


Empty Echoes

by Tonii42



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Basilisks, Blood, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Family, Family Fluff, Fight Scenes, Fluff, For Jay and Nya, Going missing, Gore, Graphic descriptions, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Love, Small Bits of Romantic Love, Tickling, injuries, lots of fluff, serpentine - Freeform, team as a family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-24 20:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 97,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18169418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonii42/pseuds/Tonii42
Summary: Echo-Zane's fogged yellow eyes focused on the tiny creature, it's colorful wings flapping up and down as it flew away, deeper into the greenery of the forest, as light as air and as delicate as standing frost. He'd never seen anything so beautiful before, so enchanting, and for a moment he was near convinced it was some sort of magic. He ran after it.





	1. Flicker

_Chapter One:_

Flicker

* * *

Gears shifted, making quite little whirring noises, accompanied by the creak of rusted parts. There was the familiar sound of waves crashing against rocks, of the seagulls squawking in their nest, the sent of a salty wind blowing gently across the sky.

Fogged yellow eyes blinked open, taking a moment to adjust properly. A stone ceiling with wooden beams going to and fro met his sight, and his first thought was that his legs must have malfunctioned again, seeing as how he was on the floor.

Echo-Zane blinked, sitting up and looking about the lighthouse basement in confusion. How on earth had he gotten back here? Where had everyone gone?

A whir sounded beside him, and Echo turned to look down at Gizmo, the little bot gently bumping against his side. A small smile spread across his metal lips at the sight of his friend, and Echo reached over and patted him on the head. He climbed to his feet, relieved to find that his legs were in fact not malfunctioning, and took another look around the basement.

It seemed perfectly normal, just like it had been when that boy and girl (Jake and Maya? No, that wasn't it) had got him out. But where were they now? They hadn't abandoned him like his father had, did they?

Electric blue eyes flashed across his memory unit, lit up in awe and excitement as they locked with his own, embedded in a shiny titanium face, near identical to his own. Echo felt like there was a stone stuck in his circuits again.

Where had he gone?

Gizmo beeped, bumping against his leg, tearing Echo from his thoughts. He glanced down at the little bot, a frown on his usually smiling face. "Where'd they all go?"

Gizmo gave a confused beep. Echo turned to the stairs leading up to the secret door and into the main part of the lighthouse, his smile returning. "They must be upstairs!" Echo stepped over Gizmo and ran up the stairs, the boards creaking under his feet. Gizmo zoomed after him, giving off a loud chorus of beeps.

He flipped the switch and slipped between the doors before they'd even fully opened, running up the stairs and not even noticing the gears and parts clattering on the ground behind him.

Skidding into the room Jay and Nya (Was that it? He couldn't recall) had been sitting in when they'd spotted him, Echo looked around expectantly, his smile slowly fading. The place was empty, just like it had been this morning.

"Hello?" Echo called, starting to make his way around the lighthouse, "Is anyone here?" Gizmo clambered up the stairs behind him, struggling to hold all the parts that had been dropped, beeping.

Echo ignored him for the time being, running his fingers over the table his two rescuers had sat at. They had been the first people he'd interacted with ever since he was left in the basement.

He was a little sad to see them go. He didn't want to be alone again.

A nudge to his leg made him look down again, Gizmo holding up one of the gears he'd picked up. Echo took it from him, staring at it for a moment, running metallic fingers over its edges. He'd almost had friends.

Gizmo beeped again, and Echo gave him a small smile. "At least I still have you." The little bot gave a series of agreeing beeps, running circles around his rusty friend, Echo's smile widening. "Let's go have some breakfast, then."

And so they went about like any other day, Echo making two bowls of oil and unitchips for breakfast, and then they played a few rounds of Hide and Seek. It was just like any other day, the lighthouse wasn't even damaged from the attack. It was as though it had never even happened.

Maybe it didn't.

It started raining a little while after breakfast, big fat drops that reminded Echo of human tears. He and Gizmo curled up at one of the windows with some of the worn books that were scattered throughout the lighthouse, with their yellow pages and coffee stained covers. Some were stories about adventures and heroes, some were completely scientific and even had little scribbles and notes around the edges from his father.

Echo found his mind wandering back to the people he'd fought alongside with, mainly the one that looked like an improved version of himself. In all the chaos, he hadn't even gotten his name, hadn't gotten any of their names really, they hadn't really gotten to introductions. They'd kept calling him Echo-Zane, so he supposed that was his full name. He wondered why it wasn't programmed into him, though. Must be one of his many faults.

But that was okay. He wouldn't be him if he didn't have faults.

He kept expecting them to show up again, to barge through the door and declare that they needed his help again. Throughout the entire day, while he was playing games with Gizmo, reading, making lunch, watching the seagulls flying through the rain as it slowly lightened to a drizzle, he just couldn't get his mind off these people- these Ninja.

As Gizmo powered down for a recharge, Echo climbed the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, clambering out the highest window with practiced ease, his feet sticking to the side of the tall building almost automatically. The rain had lightened enough so that it wasn't too cloudy, enough that Echo would be able to see the night sky with his robotic yellow eyes.

He climbed to the top of the tower, little droplets pinging off his metallic form, passing the seagull's nest near to very tip of the lighthouse. Echo sat down, looking up at the sky and watching the stars, rain trailing down his face and neck. The sea crashed against the islands in white sprays, a harsh wind blowing and making the waves bigger. If Echo had been human, he would have been blown right off.

He sat there for a long time, the only light that of the lighthouse, it's bright glow going round and round in a familiar rhythm. The stars blinked and twinkled above him, and with the added rain it was almost as if they were crying. He wondered what it was like to cry.

Finally, Echo decided it was about time he went back inside and joined Gizmo in recharge. He stood up, his feet sticking to the wet building again, and starting walking back towards the window. Just as he reached the seagull's nest, however, Echo was abruptly blinded by a bright light.

He gasped in surprise, covering his eyes with his arm. The light shifted out of his face, revealing some sort of flying ship, the stern in the shape of a dragons head. His clockwork heart ticked faster at the sight of it, fear squeezing his throat. Flying ships.

The pirates.

Echo scrambled back through the window, tripping over the ledge and falling flat on his face, sending loose gears flying. The ticking of his heart was terribly audible, his legs and hands shaking violently. He needed to grab Gizmo, they needed to hide, there was no way he'd be able to fight them all-

Someone knocked on the front door, causing Echo's heart to tick even faster. He scrambled to his feet and ran down the stairs, taking two at a time, not even stopping to pick up the fallen gears. There was no time. He just hoped they'd mistake it for a mess Dr. Julian hadn't bothered cleaning up.

The rain, which had previously been a light drizzle, was getting heavier, nearing a full-blown thunder storm. There was another knock on the door, this time much harder and louder than the previous, accompanied by shouting that was drowned out by a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder.

Gizmo was already up, standing in the middle of the main room, beeping questionably at Echo. "We have to hide!" The robot hissed, looking about frantically. His gaze turned to the shadowed ceiling. The wooden beams would make an excellent hiding place.

He picked up Gizmo, holding him under one arm, and ran up the walls and onto the ceiling. The little bot beeped rapidly, but reluctantly fell quiet when Echo shushed him. He made his way to one of the dark corners as quickly and quietly as possible, hiding behind a large beam, brushing away cobwebs. Echo hugged Gizmo to his chest, planting his feet on either side of the wall, pressing his back to the beam. He placed a hand over his clockwork heart in an attempt to muffle the ticking.

There was a moment of silence, soon broken by what sounded like more yelling, multiple in fact, perhaps an argument. Then there was a deafening  _BANG!_ that sent Gizmo into a fit of shivers, and the sound of the storm outside increased.

"I'm glad we have a water ninja." someone said, as multiple pairs of feet walked into the lighthouse. From the way Echo was facing, he couldn't see them. "Otherwise we'd be completely soaked."

"Where did this storm come from anyway?"

"Does it matter?" Why did he recognize those voices? Maybe it's the pirates that he himself had fought. "At least we're away from the paparazzi."

"Maybe you shouldn't have kissed my sister in front of them."

"How was I supposed to know Dareth would pull a camera out?"

"Because he's  _Dareth_."

"Where's Gizmo?" This one sound a bit... robotic. Maybe his hearing was malfunctioning again. "And Echo-Zane?"

Echo could have sworn his heart stopped. They were here for him.

"Maybe he's still in the basement?"

"He's definitely around here somewhere, Zane."

At the name, Gizmo started beeping. Loudly.

"Gizmo?"

Echo shook his head frantically at the little robot, but Gizmo was already wiggling out of his arms, briefly falling and landing on the floor. Still beeping excitedly, he zoomed towards the intruders, Echo having to use both hands to muffle his ticking heart.

"There you are!"

Slowly, Echo started to shift in place, gripping onto the beam and twisting his body to try and look under it to see what was happening. The robotic voice continued.

"Do you know where Echo-Zane is, Gizmo?" The little robot beeped a reply, and the sound of his wheels met his ears as he came closer. Echo's heart ticked faster, so fast that he was afraid that they'd hear. He tried to twist around again, to get into a position where he can climb onto the beams and hop to the other side of the room, but within moments Gizmo was right underneath him, pointing up with a clawed hand and beeping excitedly.

He came face to face with a spider.

A startled yelp tore from Echo's throat, and he lost his grip on the beam. Usually, he would have been able to hold himself up fine with just his feet on the wall, but from the way his body was positioned, he wasn't able to maintain much of a grip, be it on the beam or the wall.

He fell, landing right on top of Gizmo and sending even more gears and screws scattering, his right eye flickering and falling out of place, the only thing stopping it from rolling away being a single wire.

Startled silence filled the lighthouse, rain still pelting the rocks outside. Then, blinking his one good eye, Echo lifted his head, a smile splitting his face when he spotted, not pirates, but the  _Ninja._ He raised an arm. "Hello. I am Echo-Zane."

"Wow." said Green, putting his hands on his hips and tilting his head to the side, "He's in pretty bad shape."

"Dr. Julian didn't really have the best equipment here, though." a women with braided grey hair observed, looking around the room, "It's amazing he was even able to build him at all."

Muffled beeping met Echo's ears, and he sat up, giving Gizmo an apologetic look. The little bot beeped at him angrily, before whirling away in a huff, probably to get their guests something to snack on.

Echo watched him go for a moment, before starting to try and pluck his broken eye back into place. The robot, the one that looked like an improved version of himself, walked forwards, kneeling down in front of him and popping his eye back into place with his shiny, metallic thumb.

It flickered back on, restoring the rest of his vision, and Echo gave the other robot a grateful smile. The robot returned it with one much wider than his own, his electric blue eyes even brighter than they usually were.

"So I take it we're staying the night?" The ghost said, rubbing the back of his neck, "'Cause, you know... the storm and everything..."

"Oh, yeah, yeah." agreed the black haired girl, a bit hurriedly, "The storm. Of- Of course."

"Well, if we're staying, might as well get some dinner going." said Green, turning to the black haired girl. "Nya, come help me get some stuff off the Bounty. The rest of you settle in."

The girl, Nya, nodded. "Sure, Lloyd." The two walked back into the storm, Nya raising her hands. From where Echo was sitting, it almost looked like they weren't even getting wet. How odd.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." said the robot, sitting cross-legged in front of him and regaining Echo's attention. He held out a hand. "I am Zane. Dr. Julian built me a few years before he was imprisoned in this lighthouse."

Echo shook the outstretched hand, looking at the robot- Zane- in wonder. "I am Echo-Zane. Built to protect those who cannot protect themselves. So we have the same father?"

Zane's smile was so wide it looked like his face-plate was going to crack in two. "Yes, it would appear so."

Behind him, Lloyd and Nya had returned, carrying bags in their arms. Everyone else had gone about setting the place up for the night, leaving the two newly-found brothers to get to know each other. Zane finally tore his eyes from Echo's, looking the other bot up and down, taking in the rusted parts and missing gears, his smile faltering slightly as he realized just how bad of a shape he was in. Echo's eye flickered, popping out of his socket again.

"Stay here." said Zane, a light frown on his features. He climbed to his feet and dashed out the front door, Echo watching him go, startled. Had he said something wrong?

It must have shown on his face, because the grey haired women turned to him with a kind smile. "Don't worry, he'll be back in a moment. He's probably just getting his tools."

Echo blinked at him, brow furrowing in confusion. He reached up and pushed his eye back into place, but it popped out again. "Why would he need his tools?"

Before she could answer, Zane was back, dripping wet and clutching a firetruck red tool box to his chest. He made his way over to the spiral staircase, gesturing with his head for Echo to follow. "Come on, then."

"Don't take too long!" the Green one called, as Echo followed Zane up the stairs, "Dinner'll be ready in an hour!"

Echo followed Zane without a word, his hand pressing his broken eye into place so it wouldn't pop out. The stairs creaked beneath their metal feet, and Zane kept stopping and opening doors, peering inside before closing the door again and moving onto the next one.

The shorter bot followed without a word, rusted parts creaking and gears squeaking. Zane opened another door and, seemingly satisfied with the room's contents, stepped inside. It was Dr. Julian's old, makeshift lab, where he'd first constructed Echo-Zane.

Zane sat his tool box on the bench, opening it and rummaging through it. Echo walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder and tilting his head curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Your wires are tangled." said Zane, not looking up from his box, "You're missing screws and gears. Your power-source is faltering, you're filthy, and that's not even half of it." He shook his head, finally turning to look at the other robot, "Why they let you go into battle like this is beyond my comprehension."

Echo blinked his one functional eye, still holding his other one in place. "I was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Zane stilled, a screw driver in his hand. After a moment, he turned to look at Echo again. "I know that, Echo. But who's going to protect you?"

"I have the ability to protect myself."

The titanium robot looked down, not saying anything. Then, silently, he turned back to his tool box, placing spare parts and surprisingly clean tools on the table in neat rows. He pushed the box to the other side of the the table, gesturing to the space he'd made by doing so. "Hop up."

Echo hesitated for a second, before doing as told, turning around and pushing himself up onto the wooden surface. His rust covered legs dangled in their, and he started to swing them back and forth as Zane took a closer look at his broken eye, which popped out again when Echo let go.

"Can you lie down?"

Nodding, Echo swung his feet up onto the table, lying back and watching as Zane placed his tool box on the floor to make more room. Picking up some pliers, Zane made his way up to Echo's head to take a closer look at his broken eye.

"So does this mean you're my big brother?" asked Echo.

Zane went still again, turning his attention to the only working yellow eye, a faint ticking noise filling the room. He smiled, a warmth spreading through his chest as though his power-source had abruptly decided it wanted to be a hot water bottle.

"Yes," said Zane, turning back to the broken eye with his smile still in place, "I suppose I am."


	2. Sparkle

_Chapter Two:_

Sparkle

* * *

His joints shifted soundlessly, his gears moving together as though they were one. The rust that had once coated his metallic frame was gone, replaced by dark, shiny, slightly copper-colored metal. His eyes were no longer covered in sticky dirt and stains, rolling inside their sockets with ease, and he'd never before been able to see so clearly.

Echo hadn't felt this good since the day he was first made.

"That's  _much_ better." said Nya, as the two robots made their way back downstairs. The rickety table, which had been scrubbed clean, was covered with chipped plates and bent cutlery, piled high with food from they'd gotten off the Bounty.

Zane nodded in agreement, looking his new found little brother up and down, a satisfied smile on his face. "Yes, I believe he is."

Echo beamed back at him, Gizmo giving off a series of beeps and nudging the larger bots leg. He grinned down at him, reaching out and patting his head.

The newly improved robot maintained his beaming grin throughout almost all of dinner, sitting between Zane and the red one (Kyle?). He was a bit hesitant to eat the stuff they'd given him, which consisted of some sort of light brown meat on a bone, thin yellow sticks that varied in sizes and leafy-looking balls on the side (he'd spotted the ghost (Casper?) putting his leafy balls onto Jay's plate while he wasn't looking). But after watching Zane start eating the new food without a second thought, Echo did the same, and was quite pleased with the flavor the burst to life on his taste buds.

Well, except for the leafy balls. No wonder Connor (Christopher? Cooper?) had thrown his away.

While everyone else got a cup of some sort of orange liquid, Echo and Zane were given oil, much to the younger bots delight. He was mostly silent during dinner, content to just sit there and listen to the chatter around him, so very different from the silence he was used to.

"So, Echo," the bearded man (who he was fairly sure was called Wonky) spoke up, drawing attention to him for the first time in a while, "How long have you been here by yourself?"

Echo blinked, suddenly finding every face turned towards, Zane frowning, if only slightly. He thought for a moment, scrambling through his memory unit to piece together his answer.

"A few years, I believe." he said slowly, "My father finished building me around three or four years after arriving at the lighthouse. I was only around for a couple months, perhaps a year, before he locked me in the basement and powered me down. When Gizmo woke me up, he was gone."

"That must have been after we rescued him." said Lloyd (was it Lloyd? It might have been Lukas).

Nya shook her head, giving the table top a frown. "Why would he lock you up like that?"

"He said it was because I wasn't 'him.'" Echo explained, shrugging, his parts not even squeaking, "I think he might have been referring to the original Zane."

Zane was silent, looking down at his shiny metal hands, clasped together in his lap, his electric blue eyes dulling ever so slightly. Echo could have almost sworn someone was talking, a low mumble to his robotic ears, but when he looked around, he saw no lips moving. After a moment, Zane closed his eyes and sighed, before looking up at his newfound brother.

"I'm sorry about that, Echo-Zane. He shouldn't have done that to you."

Echo blinked at him, confusing flashing across his unit. "Done what to me?"

Now everyone was staring at him, eyes filled with shock and even a bit of horror. Echo simply frowned, looking to Zane for an explanation, but he seemed to be the worse off. His mouth was hanging open ever so slightly, his eyes wide and his face twisted into a look of pure dismay, perhaps horror. A stone was in Echo's circuits, tangling his wires and sinking to his stomach section, his throat squeezing and his clockwork heart's ticking becoming slightly louder.

What had he said wrong? They weren't going to leave him alone again, were they?

"You-" Jay faltered, his voice quite, "You think what he did to you was okay?"

Echo's heart ticked a little faster. He wasn't sure how to answer. "Did  _what_ to me?"

Wonky (Winky?) coughed into his fist, muttering to himself. "Oh, dear."

"Echo," the grey-haired lady said, her voice gentle, "He locked you in the basement and left you there to rot. Do you see nothing wrong with that?"

"He was upset." said Echo, still rather confused by the looks he was receiving, "He wanted Zane, but I'm not him, so I had to go."

"That gives him no right." Zane scowled at the table top, his hands clenched into fists, eyes hard, "You were still his son, it doesn't matter if you weren't his first. I would have been ecstatic to learn that not only had I been reunited with my father, but I had a little brother too."

Echo blinked, not entirely sure how he was supposed to respond to that. "Oh."

The room descended into an awkward silence, no one knowing what to say next. After a long moment, Wonky Winky Wu got to his feet, clapping his hands together. "Well, I say it's around time we all head to bed. If we don't get back to Ninjago soon, the public will go insane with idiotic theories and far-fetched guesses."

Ghostly groaned. "No cake?"

"No cake."

Everyone got to their feet, Zane hesitating before doing the same, still frowning at Echo and unwilling to drop the subject. As the new arrivals wandered off in search of rooms to spend the night in, Echo slipped down the stairs and back into the basement, Gizmo zipping after him with a series of beeps.

The secret door was still open from this morning, and Echo didn't bother closing it this time. He briefly considered sleeping upstairs with the others, but decided against it. He didn't want to be a bother.

The rain had slowly disappeared throughout dinner, although the ground was still damp and the air thick with the aftermath, the sea splashing against the rocks roughly. Echo curled up on the floor in the far corner, giving him a perfect view of the open door, resting his head against the wall. Gizmo came to sit next to him, settling down on his wheels, his lights going slightly darker as he powered down into sleep, although they were still rather bright in the basement's darkness.

Echo closed his eyes with a contented sigh, curling into a metallic ball. He was almost completely in Rest Mode when the basement stairs creaked, and his eyes snapped open, head turning to the basement door so fast it almost hurt. For a split second, he thought it was the pirates, but then his fogged eyes met glowing electric blue ones.

"Zane?" Echo said, straightening into a sitting positioning, as said bot made his way down the rest of the stairs and over to him. He was carrying a large, patched blanket.

"You sleep down here?" asked Zane, coming to a stop in front of Echo, "Why not up in one of the bedrooms?"

Echo shrugged. He'd never really thought about it.

Zane frowned at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, he flung the blanket over Echo's front, who jumped at the sudden action, eyes widening in surprise when Zane got down on the floor and crawled under it to join him. He gave the younger bot a small smile, before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes for a rest.

Echo stared at him for a long moment, before a smile of his own titled his metal lips, and he settled down against the wall as well, his head almost resting on Zane's shoulder. The titanium droid shifted slightly, not opening his eyes, wrapping an arm around Echo's back and pulling him into a half hug, his head on top of the shorter bots head.

Gizmo gave of a chorus of annoyed beeps, flaying his arms and tripping over his wheels as he struggled to get himself out from under the blanket. Still beeping in a form of a rant, he climbed up onto the blanket and plopped down in the two other droids lap, giving a small grumble before settling down again and going back to sleep.

Zane and Echo gave him amused smiles, before they themselves settled back down in their little half cuddle, the stars sparkling through the small windows and the sound of the sea a small hum to their ears.

* * *

Echo stood at the very back of the flying ship, his feet firmly planted on the edge and his shiny metal fingers curled around a rope, a worn out leather journal clutched to his chest with the other. Gizmo sat atop a barrel next to him, the lighthouse slowly getting further and further away, so that it was a mere speck on the horizon.

"Are you okay?"

The droid blinked, twisting around to find Zane standing a little ways away. The gears in his brother's legs and shoulders were tense, as though he was about to leap forwards and grab him. Gizmo beeped.

"I'm alright." said Echo, turning fully so that his back faced the shrinking lighthouse, "It's just... I haven't truly ever been outside the lighthouse's island. I was more focused on fighting those pirates."

He looked over his shoulder again. The lighthouse was too small to see now, even with his enhanced vision. He wondered if this would be the last time he ever saw it.

Echo wasn't just how to feel about that thought.

"Are you scared?" asked Zane, moving to at his side, still looking as though he was ready to grab him and pull him away. Echo looked down at the ocean bellow them, crashing and smashing against the rocks, thinking the question over.

Finally, he shrugged, looking over at Zane- his  _big brother_ \- with a smile, fogged eyes faintly glowing. "Why should I be? You're here."

Zane's face morphed into a look of surprise, but it soon melted away into a small, soft smile. He reached out and took Echo's hand, who hopped down from the ledge, the boards creaking slightly beneath his feet.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Zane's eyes trailed down to the leather journal, still clutched against Echo's chest. "What's that?"

Fogged eyes blinked, and Echo looked down at it, before holding it up, his other hand still clasped with Zane's. "It was father's journal. I didn't want to leave it behind."

Zane made a small noise in the back of his throat, his back stiffening slightly, his eyes not wavering from the journal. A curious spark was in his eyes. "May I see it?"

"Of course." Echo handed the journal over, letting go of Zane's hand and clasping his own behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels as Gizmo attempted to get down from the barrel by himself. Zane opened the journal, taking in the writing within moments and moving onto the next one, flipping through them and skipping some.

He came to a stop at the very last page, his brow furrowed slightly. Echo knew what he was reading. He'd read it so many that he'd practically memorized it, and for the first time ever, he realized who it was truly addressed to.

_Zane,_

_I know you'll be mad, if you ever find out about him. But I just couldn't do it, and I'm sorry. I'm not sure what you'll think of him, but maybe you can look after him much like I looked after you._

_Your Father._

Zane was silent for a long moment, staring at the letter but not seeing it. Echo heard that little mumbling noise again, and looked around for the source, but it was only them and Gizmo.

After a moment, Zane sighed, handing the journal back. "Do you still think him locking you in the basement was okay?"

Echo blinked at him, looking down at the journal in his hands. "I don't think it was very nice of him."

An almost unwillingly smile appeared on Zane's face at that, a small chuckle rising from his throat. "Yeah." He slung an arm around Echo's shoulders, Gizmo falling to the floor with a series of beeps, and began to lead him to the main deck.

"But you've got me now."

* * *

Echo had officially decided that he did not like the media.

When he and the Ninja had arrived in Ninjago, they were almost immediately swarmed by people screaming at the top of their lungs and the flashes of cameras. These people immediately stuck their nose into business that had nothing to do with them, asking questions about Jay and Nya (for a reason Echo couldn't comprehend), and how Nya was 'finally able to choose between them, and why she chose Jay instead of Cole.'

Then they spotted 'two Zanes,' and then they was even more questions, and Lloyd (he was still 49% sure it was Lukas) had shouted something about them being brothers and honestly, it had only gotten worse from there.

Echo had abruptly found microphones being jabbed at his face, and over a million questions being fired at him like a rain of bullets. The few that he was able to understand were things like 'where have you been,' 'what do you think about your brother being a Ninja,' 'why were you built exactly like him.' Questions that even Echo didn't want to answer, or know the answer to, and he'd eventually just started hiding behind Zane.

Then there was the city itself. It was large and bright and loud, it sent the thrill of adventure tingling up Echo's robotic spine, while at the same time making his clockwork heart tick faster with fear. After spending his entire life in the lighthouse, with nothing put the squawk of the seagulls and the crash of the waves, both Echo and Gizmo found their nights to be sleepless, and neither of them had ventured far into the city. The farthest Echo had gone was to a corner store for milk near the end of their street, and even then that had been with Zane, and they'd been wearing hoodies, hats and sunglasses in an attempt to appear as normal citizens.

When they'd first arrived, there hadn't had a bed for him. There were very few bedrooms, and the Ninja had to share one filled with bunk beds. Echo had been all for sleeping on the floor, but Zane had insisted he take his bed. It hadn't mattered, really, since Echo had later crawled out of bed because it was far too comfy than he was used to and ended up cuddling up with Zane on the blankets they'd set up on the floor. They'd awoken the next morning to quite a bit of giggling, and Nya taking pictures on her phone.

He'd been here three days, but still wasn't sure if whether or not he liked living in the city. But he had new friends here, people who accepted him without a moments hesitation, and he had Zane with him. That's all he wanted, really.

So Echo would bare the sleepless nights until he got used to the constant noise, he'd hide his face from the citizens and the reporters, and he'd resist the temptations he'd sometimes have to go outside and explore. Because, he supposed, that was much better than being alone again.

* * *

The boat rocked back and forth on the waves, a soft wind ruffling my dark hair and clothes. I take another long drag from my cigar, before flicking it over the side of the ship and into the green water, the little flame on its tip going out in a small puff.

I climb over the side of the boat and onto the deck, which was covered with holes and appeared to still be getting rebuilt, tossing the captain a purse without looking at him, not caring if he caught it or not. From his annoyed grunt and the sound of coins hitting wood, it's safe to assume he didn't.

Then again, I'm far from caring.

The wooden planks creak beneath my feet as I make my way into the half destroyed city, workers hardly glancing at me as they repaired their homes and stores. Some of the people were wearing rags, their feet bare and their eyes tired. A homeless family is sitting outside the wrecked pub, a father, a toddler and a newborn, watching a women I assume to be the mother hammering away at the side of a building. Both parents look exhausted, the father more so. They must be taking turns.

I toss a coin into the toddlers cracked bowel, and enter the pub.

It was practically demolished. Broken beams sat on the floor, gaping holes in the floor led way to the ocean right bellow, the walls were crumbling and the roof was nothing but jagged splinters, while any glass that had been inside was nothing but shards.

A scowl crossed my face.

They were late.

Mindful of the holes and broke boards, I made my way over to the counter, covered in broken glass and concrete dust, leaning against it and pulling out another cigar. I stuck it between my teeth, taking out a lighter and flicking it, the small flame appearing and almost looking like it was dancing in the light breeze coming from the holes in the walls. Before I could light my cigar, however, a voice broke through the silence and I froze.

"You shouldn't smoke, y'know."

A slightly stronger wind burst through, blowing out the little flame and leaving my cigar unlit. I grunt, taking the cigar out of my mouth but not putting it away, turning to the far corner, where the voice had come from.

It was a girl, leaning against the wall, her white hair streaked with a dulling purple. Her face was thin and pale, her lips curved upwards into a small smile, her clothes ragged and torn. She was barefoot, and seemed to care not for the cold wind hitting us in small gusts. I raised my eyebrows at her, my surprise hidden behind a mask of indifference.

It was the women I'd assumed to be the homeless families mother.

"You must be Carrot." she said, not moving.

"And you," I say, "Are not Ren."

"He couldn't be here."

Bull. "Why?"

The women shrugged. She couldn't have been much older than me. "Who knows. He's him."

"And I'm me." I push myself off the counter, crossing my arms and shifting my weight to one foot. "I don't like surprises. He said he'd be here."

"But he couldn't be here." the women said simply, unfazed, "So he sent me in his place. You want to do this deal or not?"

I was silent for a moment, the women not breaking eye contact with me, my brown on her violet. I nod. The women smiles.

"Alright." she pushes herself off the wall, stalking towards me with a sway of her hips, hopping up onto the counter as though the glass and splinters on it had never even existed. She leaned forwards, placing her elbows and her knees. "Where do we start?"

"Probably along the lines of my pay."

The women laughs, a soft, sweet sound. "Don't worry, Carrot. We'll get to that." she leans back, splaying her palms against the counter, her smirk turning ever so slightly darker. Her violet eyes shone with promise. My mask doesn't waver.

"But let's start with the Ninja."


	3. Gone

_Chapter Three:_

Gone

* * *

Screaming.

That was all Echo could hear. It drowned out everything else, it rattled the gears in his metallic skull, it was so loud that he could barely hear Lloyd speaking only a few feet away from him, and it appeared as though he was shouting.

He was starting to regret coming. He should have just stayed at the Bounty like Misako had suggested, but she and Wu were going out shopping or something, so it would've been only him and Gizmo. Of course, he loved his little friend's company, but he doesn't believe he would be able to stand losing yet another game of chess to him.

Still. It would have more than likely been a lot better than the high pitched screams of the surrounding fans.

Echo stepped closer to Zane, practically glued to his hip, Gizmo violently shaking from where he was cradled against the bots chest. The titanium droid reached out and hooked his shiny fingers around Echo's, sending him a comforting smile and leading him into the building after the other Ninja, thankfully away from the camera flashes and the screaming fans.

The door closed behind them, muffling the screaming, if only slightly. Echo's shoulders slumped in relief, although he didn't let go of Zane's hand, who gave it a small squeeze to show it was alright.

"I think Misako might have been right." said Nya, shooting the shaken bot a concerned look, "Maybe you should have stayed home, Echo."

"Well, we're here now," Lloyd sighed, placing a hand on his hip and looking up to see a man wearing all brown swaggering (yes, literally swaggering) towards them, "Might as well get on with it."

"Well, well, well," said the man in brown, a lazy grin on his lips, his stance reeking arrogance, as he came to a stop in front of him, "Isn't it my favorite Ninja!"

Jay put a hand over his heart, a mock-touched look on his face, "Why, thank you!"

"No problem." the man drawled, before starting to pace back and forth, "Now, here's what we're going to do. Jay," he pointed to said boy, "I need you and Nya to stay close together, got it? And maybe you and Cole can exchange a glare or four-"

"We're not doing that, Dareth." Cole deadpanned. The man, Dareth, made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat.

"Fine, fine. At least don't stand next to each other." This gained many eye rolls. "Now, Zane- wow, wait, why are there two Zanes?" He came to a stop in front of the two brothers, Echo moving to hide behind Zane again. Dareth's eyebrows hit his hairline, his eyes lighting up as he looked from Zane to Echo. "So you've finally decided to bring him out into the public! Have I got some idea's for this guy!"

"Dareth-" Zane began, but the man in brown was already prying Echo away from him, throwing an arm over his shoulders. Echo wrapped both arms around Gizmo in fear of the man taking him away too, said small bot starting to shake again.

"Now," said Dareth, not seeming to realize Echo was trying to desperately lean away from him and get back to Zane, "Being the long lost little brother to everyone's favorite Nindroid has gotten you a lot of curious on lookers, obviously not as much as Nya choosing Jay over Cole-"

"Oh, not this again."

"-But we can still milk this for all its worth! Maybe we can get you all rusted up and take a few pictures of you with Zane, you know what I'm saying?"

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Cole. Dareth waved him away.

"They want to have an interview with you guys this week, and they'll mostly be asking questions about Jay and Nya, but we can weave together a story about Zake here." he patted Echo-Zane on the back, so hard that he was afraid some gears would come loose.

"M-My name is not-"

"There's tons of theories on where he's been." Dareth continued, as though Echo hadn't even spoken. The air was getting rather cold. "One of my favorites is he was built to replace the real Zane, and that's why they look so much alike, but he turned out all wrong and retarded so-"

Zane leaped forwards, face twisted into a look of rage, frost coating the tips of his fingers, and shoved Dareth so hard that he fell flat on his back, Kai and Cole stepping aside instead of catching him. Echo immediately latched onto Zane again, hiding behind him and peeking over his shoulder at the man in brown on the floor.

Dareth blinked at the ceiling slowly, startled and a bit sore. Then his eyes lit up, and he jumped to his feet again, his grin widening when his eyes settled on the brothers, Echo still hiding behind Zane, who was shooting the brown haired man a venomous look.

"Yes!" Dareth exclaimed, gaining a  _lot_ of surprised looks, "That's it! Protective big brother, it's  _perfect_!"

Lloyd sighed. "Can we just do this already? I want to get home tonight."

"Hey," said Dareth, pointing at him, "I  _apologized_ for that."

Zane, Kai, Lloyd, Cole, Jay and Nya were dragged off to a dressing room, where Echo and Gizmo watched from the corner, out of the way. Eventually, around an hour or two later, they were given scripts of sorts to memorize, and were then put under the camera and had to do the same thing multiple times.

Meanwhile, Echo took a seat on the floor away from everyone else, but with a decent view of what was happening. Dareth had come up to him at one point and dropped a Ninja coloring book and a pack of sharpies in front of him, said so he could entertain himself and not get in the way. Echo wasn't truly sure what to make of this 'Brown Ninja' (as he appeared to have dubbed himself), but he'd given him the coloring book, so he couldn't be all bad, he supposed.

For the next two or three hours, Echo kept to himself, coloring in pictures of his brother and the other Ninja (he wondered why there wasn't many of Nya), Gizmo passing him the sharpies and beeping occasionally, but they mostly sat in silence. Eventually, a break was called, and the rather relived looking Ninja wandered over to him with sandwiches and water bottles in hand.

"What'cha doing, Echo?" asked Kai, raising an eyebrow at the sharpies. The bots metallic hands were covered in colorful lines.

"Dareth gave them to me." Echo explained, climbing to his feet as Nya handed him his own sandwhich and a water bottle filled with black oil. She stooped down and picked up the coloring book, rolling her eyes when he realized that it was of the Ninja.

The coloring itself was messy, some places darker than others because he'd pressed down hard, like it had been done by a five or six year old that was still having a little trouble holding the utensils properly. Nya sent Echo a smile. "Looks great."

"Why don't you go wash up?" suggested Zane, gesturing to his brothers stained hands, "There's a bathroom just over there." he pointed to a door half hidden behind the corner, what appeared to be one of those bathroom signs on it. Echo nodded, setting his sandwich and oil on a crate and starting to make his way over to the bathroom.

He weaved passed people walking to and fro, some carrying foam cups filled with a steaming black-brown liquid, others equipment and lunches. Echo slipped into the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him, the lights flickering on as they sensed his presence. He glanced around, before going over to the sinks and turning on a tap, squirting soap onto his hands and starting to scrub them clean under the warm water.

The sharpie stains gone, he dried his hands with a paper towel and exited the bathroom. He moved to head back over to where he'd left the others, but loud whispers met his robotic ears, and he turned to look for the source. The hallway he was in was empty, and there was some crates sitting near the end. Brow furrowing, Echo slowly made his way over to them, fogged yellow eyes narrowing.

"What if we get caught?"

"Shh! Not so loud."

"We just need to get close-"

Echo peered over the edge of the crate, and came face to face with five or six girls, wearing either Ninja t-shirts or hats. They immediately went silent, their eyes widening. At least three looked as though they were about to faint.

He blinked. "Hello."

The girls looked as though they were hyperventilating, their chests going up and down rapidly. Then they started squealing, a high pitched sound that made the talking in the other room almost come to a complete stop, Echo wincing as it assaulted his ears. He barely had time to recover from the sound before the girls were leaping towards him like cats after yarn, Echo stumbling backwards with a surprised yell.

They latched onto his arm, most of then still screeching, and Echo suddenly found himself in a rather odd game of Tug of War. A painful one, too. He planted his feet onto the ground, but it was six against one, and he soon found the screws and gears in his shoulder creaking loudly.

"L-Let go!" Echo gasped, the pain in his shoulder intensifying. He could hear footsteps pounding towards them. "You're hurting me!"

Arms wrapped around his chest, practically lifting him into the air and pulling. The girls eyes widened, their mouths opening in shock, and Echo abruptly found his arm free, and then he was falling backwards onto the person behind him, who let out a grunt as they hit the floor.

Ushers ran passed them and began to force the girls out the door, who were starting to shout and screech again. Echo rolled off the person, which turned out to be Zane, reaching up and rubbing at his sore shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Zane blinked, sitting up and nodding, sending a glare in the girls direction as they disappeared around the corner. He turned to Echo, eyes softening. "What happened?"

Before Echo could answer, the other Ninja were helping the two brothers to their feet, Gizmo zipping over and bumping against his leg. Echo sent him a small smile, although it was more of a grimace. They'd really hurt his shoulder.

"I can't believe that just happened." said Jay, moving Echo's hand to take a look at his shoulder, "Why would they go after Echo like that?"

"They must have thought he was Zane." Lloyd said, glancing in the direction the girls and ushers had disappeared, "Sorry about that, Echo. They've never gotten inside like that before."

"I-It's fine." Echo winced, as Jay did something that put his shoulder right. He sent him a grateful smile.

"How did they mistake Echo for Zane?" asked Kai, looking between the two bots, "I mean, sure, they share  _some_ similarities, but they're honestly not all that alike."

Nya shrugged. "They must have not heard about Zane having a brother, or haven't seen any of the pictures of him. They probably just saw a robot with the same structure as Zane and thought it was him."

"Plus," muttered Echo, rolling his shoulder to make sure it was alright, "They were rather busy screaming." The Ninja chuckled.

"Come on." said Zane, after a moment of silence, reaching out and taking Echo's hand, "We're going home."

"But we haven't finished filming." Cole pointed out, although he and the others started following them. Zane brushed him off.

"We can reschedule."

Kai shrugged, stuffing the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "Guess we can say we had to go repair Echo's shoulder or something."

"Let's just go before someone tries to stop us." Nya said quietly, picking up Gizmo and looking around, "We can have Dareth reschedule later."

"We can go out back." Zane said, changing direction. They jogged out an unguarded back door, probably how the girls got into the building in the first place, and turned down into an alley. Echo could hear the fans on the other side of the building, thankfully no longer screaming.

He heard the doors they'd just exited open, and looked over his shoulder to see Dareth standing in the doorway, waving his arm above his head frantically. "Guys! Hold up! We can  _totally_ milk this!"

Zane rolled his eyes, and they kept walking, Dareth still calling after them.

"Alright!" the brown wearing man called, as Echo and the Ninja turned the corner, "Same time next week!"

Yes. Echo wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

* * *

Birds, twittering to each other up in the tall tree's, flying across the clear blue sky. Leaves and sticks crunched and snapped beneath their feet, small stones getting pressed deeper into the earth, unseen bugs scuttling away in fright.

Echo followed them up the hill, carrying Gizmo so the smaller bot wouldn't have to struggle to keep up. Zane's arms were laded with plastic cutlery, paper plates and paper cups, while Jay carried three large bottles of fizzy drinks and juice, Kai and Nya carried shopping bags, Misako a basket and Cole a large, blue blanket. The only one who wasn't carrying anything was Wu, but Echo wasn't incredibly surprised by this. He was Wu, after all.

"Here we are." said Misako, as they reached the top of the hill and she placed the basket on an old picnic table. There was a small grill a little ways away, it's insides filled with twigs and dried leaves, as well as a filled trashcan. "Garmadon and I used to come here all the time."

"Aw," Nya said, she and Kai setting their bags on the table too, "How sweet. Maybe we can do something like that, Jay."

"Yeah, sure." Jay smiled, lacing his fingers with hers, "It sounds fun."

Echo sat Gizmo down, and made his way over to the others to help set up. Kai got a fire in the grill going and they started cooking sausages and toasting cheese on bread, while Jay and Cole got the cups and plates all set up, the blue blanket draped over the picnic table.

After everything was set up and the only thing to do was to wait for the sausages to cook and the cheese to melt, Echo took a seat on the ground, picking up a stick and starting to doodle in the dirt with it, unintelligible squiggles that crisscrossed and looped over each other. He wrote his name a couple times, then Zane's and Gizmo's, and eventually the entire Ninja.

Bored, he wrote his name again, then turned it into 'Echoes' instead. He looked at it for a moment, before raising his head and looking around, his eyes landing on an empty plastic cup next to Jay. Shrugging, he wrote 'Empty' in the dirt as well, right above Echoes. He blinked, realizing he'd accidentally created a sentence. Not that it made much sense, however.

"Kai!" Misako gasped, Echo's head snapping towards her, "The food!"

"What?" Kai looked over at the grill, his eyes widening upon realizing the food upon it was burning, "Oh, crap!" He leaped to his feet, picking up the sausages with his hands and dropping them onto the paper plates, which Nya held out for him.

Wu took one of the forks and poked at a crispy black sausage, before cutting it open with a knife, his noes wrinkling at the smell. "Hmm. Good thing we have another packet."

" _I'm_ cooking this time." Zane declared. Kai winced.

"Whoops."

"Jay, why don't you go get more things to burn for another fire?" suggested Misako, seeing as how the flames had almost gone out entirely. She glanced over at Echo, watching them silently from where he sat on the forest floor. "You can take Echo-Zane with you."

"Echo?" Jay blinked, looking over at the bot in surprise, "Um, sure, if he wants to."

Echo smiled at the prospect of having something to do, dropping his stick and climbing to his feet. He followed Jay back down the hill, the smell of burnt food and the voices of the others fading away until it was only the crunch of leaves and sticks.

"So," said Jay, after a moment, "What do you think about PIXAL?"

Echo blinked. "Who's PIXAL?"

"Oh." Jay's eyes widened, mouth forming an almost perfect 'o.' "I guess we forgot to tell you about her. She's kinda like Zane's girlfriend but kinda not at the same time. She's, um, well she's a robot, and she's also inside Zane's head." he looked at Echo, "Not- Not crazy-inside-his-head, I mean, like,  _literally_ inside his head. Yeah?"

"Huh." said Echo. That explained the quiet mumbles he'd sometimes hear when no one was talking. "What's a girlfriend?"

Jay came to an abrupt halt, Echo stopping as well. "Y-You don't know about... ?"

When Echo's face remained blank, Jay groaned. "Of course you don't. Well, uh, how do I put this?" he turned around, kneeling down and starting to pick up sticks to burn. Echo was quick to do the same.

"Right, so, take me and Nya, for example." said Jay, not looking at him, "We hold hands, we go out together, we're, well, we're together, yeah? We're a couple, we're, uh, we go out to the movies and stuff, we go on dates-"

Echo looked up, Jay's voice fading out as he spotted a tiny insect, no bigger than his thumb. Curiosity sparking, he put his sticks down and got to his feet, Jay still babbling on and gathering up sticks.

Echo-Zane's fogged yellow eyes focused on the tiny creature, it's colorful wings flapping up and down as it flew away, deeper into the greenery of the forest, as light as air and as delicate as standing frost. He'd never seen anything so beautiful before, so enchanting, and for a moment he was near convinced it was some sort of magic. His legs moved without him even realizing, and he ran after it, stepping over a dead brush.

"-I mean, we certainly haven't done it, and I've got no idea how Zane and PIXAL will, or even if robots  _can_ have- Echo?" Jay blinked, looking around in search of the bot, startled to find himself alone. Eyes widening, he straightened, the sticks and twigs tumbling to the ground. "Echo? Echo?!"

Above him, a bird made a startled noise, leaping from it's branch and flapping away. Jay shook his head. "Oh, no." he looked around frantically, trying to spot his second metallic friend, his stomach going cold. "Echo?!"

He was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four:_

Dark

* * *

Jay's feet pounded against the dirt, his heart hammering in his chest as though it was trying to escape his rib cage. The muscles in his legs burned at the exertion of running up hill, an invisible fist gripping his lungs and leaving him gasping desperately for breath. His blue eyes were wild with fear, his brain scrambling to come up with a conclusion, to settle his flying nerves.

He burst out of the canopy of trees, coming to a stop and almost falling over as he rested his hands on his knees, chest going up and down rapidly as he attempted to right his breathing. Seven pairs of startled eyes bore into him, and Jay tried to speak, to explain what happened, but he was panting far too hard to form a proper word.

"Jay?" said Nya, dropping the sandwich she was about to eat and running over to him, concern furrowing her brow. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Jay tried to speak again, but all that came out was a breathless rasping noise. Lloyd looked around, his own frown deepening. "Uh, Jay? Where's Echo?"

Zane stepped forwards, looking around in search of his younger brother, eyes widening upon realizing he wasn't anywhere to be seen. He turned to Jay, still panting, his eyes almost pleading. A hard sort of look coming over Zane's face, his metallic jaw clenching and fingers twitching. "Jay, where's my brother?"

"He- He-" Jay rasped, "He just- vanished. I turn my back for- for one second a-and  _poof!_ He- He was gone."

"You lost Echo?!" exclaimed Cole.

 _"Zane,"_ said PIXAL, green eyes glowing in concern,  _"Your pulse is rising."_

The titanium droid's hands reached out and snagged the front of Jay's shirt, pulling him up and almost entirely off the ground, electric eyes blazing in fury. "How could you lose him?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Jay gasped, still slightly out of breath, "H-He couldn't have gone far, maybe if we-"

The arrow zipped through the space between their heads, scraping the tip of Zane's hand and a blue liquid welling up in the cut, before impaling into the dirt, straight through a dried leaf. With a start, Zane dropped his blue brother, who landed on his bum with a yelp.

The Ninja immediately got into fighting stance, their elements appearing on the tips of their fingers, moving to stand in a circle, eyes scanning the trees, the ground, in search of their attacker. The forest was silent, with nothing but the hum of green energy, the flicker of flames, the trickle of water and the zing of electricity. The group strained both ears and eyes, shoulders tense and muscles coiled in preparation of a fight.

A glint in the afternoon sun, and Zane's head snapped towards it, just as a bolt of fire reduced the arrow to ash before it's target could even become apparent. But then there was a yell, and Zane's eyes landed on a man dressed in ragged, dirty black clothing with a shawl covering his face, running towards him with a spear above his head, his mouth open in form of a battle cry.

It happened all at once, and many more followed the man, male and female, all dressed in dirty rags with their faces covered, some barefoot and weaponless, others armed with spears, swords, axes, bows and arrows, the like. The skin that they could see was pale, almost sickly, and their eyes were focused solely on them, no hesitation in their movements.

Zane lashed out, his fist connecting with the yelling man's face, breaking his nose as though it was as delicate as an egg. The man's yells turned into pained screams, and he jabbed his spear at the nindroid blindly, sloppily.

With ease, Zane gripped the spears long handle and wrenched it from the mans grasp, throwing it to the ground. He could hear the others battling as well, appearing to find this as easy as he was. Enraged, the man lunged at him, and Zane ducked, his attacker landing in the dirt behind him.

Spitting out mud and fixing his shawl, the man grabbed a stick and twisted to his feet, throwing it at the nindroid. It soared over Zane's head, smacking into a clump of tree branches and causing one of the archers to fall out with a scream.

Blinking, Zane turned back to the man, only for a fist to collide with his eye. It was surprisingly strong, cracking his eye lens and knocking him back a step. Zane grabbed the man's wrist, who's knuckles were bleeding either from the punch or from landing on the ground, and twisted it.

The man screamed, bone snapping beneath Zane's fingers. The titanium droid raised a leg and kicked him in the gut, winding him and knocking him onto his back. Zane turned, only for another person- this one a girl, her feet bare and a rusted, flimsy looking mace in her hand- to leap in front of him. She swung her mace, but Zane ducked, his hand shooting up and hitting the girl's forearm.

She dropped the mace, which fell right into Zane's open palm, and without a moments hesitation he swung it at her legs. There was a sickening snap, and the girl screamed, falling to the ground and clutching at her leg.

Zane straightened, dropping the mace, it's handle coated in frost, and looked around. More than half of their attackers lay on the ground, unconscious or too injured to keep fighting, arrows still raining from the archers in the trees. Misako was fending off one of the attackers with a half empty bottle of soda and a plastic knife, while Wu was surrounded by unconscious bodies, the other Ninja taking on at least two at a time.

He was suddenly rather glad Echo wasn't here.

Telling himself that they'd find him later and hopping he was safe, Zane jumped up onto the picnic table, Gizmo giving a frightened squeal from where he was hiding bellow. One of the attackers jumped up after him, spinning a knife between her fingers. He reached down, metal fingers clasping the picnic basket's handle, and swung it at her head.

Sandwiches and small cakes sprayed across the forest floor, the force of the blow breaking the basket's handle and knocking the women off the table. Gizmo raced out from underneath the picnic table with a plastic fork in hand, jabbing it into the attackers arm and drawing small speckles of blood.

"Ow!" the attacker gasped, glaring at him from behind her shawl. She raised an arm and whacked him back under the table, only for Zane to jump down and kick her in the forehead, knocking her out cold.

With a satisfied smile, Zane looked down at his little friend to make sure he was alright, who gave a small beep of confirmation. Zane straightened, grabbed a small handful of the plastic cutlery, and ran towards another one of the attackers.

* * *

"Wait!" Echo yelled, ducking under a low hanging branch, still running after the tiny little creature. A giggle rose in his throat. "Come back!"

The tiny creature fluttered over a small stream, which Echo jumped over, almost falling into it anyway when he landed on the other side. He continued after the tiny creature, almost losing it in the trees and leaves more than once.

The sound of rushing water met his robotic ears, the dirt beneath his feet becoming muddy and slippery. Echo slowed to a stop upon reaching the river, watching in dismay as the tiny creature flew over it and out of reach.

"Hey!" he called, "Please come back! I want to show you to my brother!"

But the little creature either couldn't hear him or didn't care, for it carried on, and soon disappeared into the leaves on the other side of the rushing river. Echo's shoulders slumped, a cloud shifting in the sky and covering the sun.

With a sad sigh, he turned around to start heading back to where he'd left Jay, when the sound of a twig snapping broke through the rush of the river. Echo froze, his back going ramrod straight. His fogged eyes scanned the tree's, the ticking of his clockwork heart becoming audible, his body completely still.

"Who's there?" Echo called, after a long moment of silence. He took a step back, mud squishing beneath his foot, water soaking his heel. "Come out!"

There was no answer. The sun had completely vanished now, hidden behind a large cluster of fluffy white clouds, and a small, chilly breeze was starting to form. Echo began to slowly relax, shaking his head, mentally demanding his heart to stop ticking so loudly.

It was probably just another bird, looking about in search of worms.

Giving one last reluctant glance over his shoulder to where the tiny creature had disappeared, Echo began making his way towards the trees, in the direction the snapping had come from. He'd barely gotten halfway there, however, when something abruptly rammed right into him and he went flying straight into the river.

Echo gasped, which turned out to be a mistake, as water immediately went down his throat, getting into his gears and rusting his screws. The water propelled him forwards, and he smacked into a rock, face plate cracking upon impact. His hands scrambled upon its slippery surface, digging into in desperately, his head breaking the surface of the water, coughing, the liquid pouring from his mouth as his robotic body worked to get it out of his artificial lungs.

Before Echo could fully process what had just happened, something hooked around his chest and arms, pulling him from the rock and back to the muddy ground at the edge of the river. Gasping, his face plate feeling as though it were on fire, Echo scrambled back onto land, not caring that he his hands, arms, legs and front were now covered in muck, and a few random wet leaves and twigs.

Hands grabbed his arms, forcefully pulling him to his feet, and Echo looked up to come face to face with a women in dirty, black rags, her face hidden behind a shawl. She spat something in a language he didn't understand, and another person in rags and a shawl came forwards, a large sack in hand. A faint ticking noise rose over the sound of the river.

These were not his friends.

His memory unit flashed, showing him a scene of himself and Zane in Dareth's dojo, his brother showing him the right stances to the beginners fighting technique he was trying to teach him. Memory-Echo copied him, doing his best to store the movements he was being showed into his memory unit, only to trip over his own feet and fall down. Memory-Zane gave him a small smile, reaching down and helping him up.

 _"Don't worry."_ he said,  _"We were all terrible at this once."_

Echo blinked back to the present, just in time to tear himself from his captors grasp, right before the sack could be shoved over his head. He rammed himself into the sack-holders chest, causing him to grunt in surprise as they both went flying into the mud.

The bot scrambled to his feet, slipping and sliding, and aimed a punch at another one of his attackers, but it was easily blocked and they sent their own fist slamming into his already cracked face plate. Echo went flying onto his back, spraying mud, his body erupting with pain.

He struggled onto his knees, arms shaking, only for a foot to slam into his back, sending him to the ground again. Echo twisted around, his wide, terrified yellow eyes meeting the violet that belonged to the women, as she raised a club over her head and brought it down on his forehead.

His vision flickered, like a faulty light, the force sending Echo onto his back again. The women raised her club for another blow, but the bot rolled out of the way in the nick of time, and it smacked into the ground where his head had been not moments before, spraying more mud.

Clockwork heart ticking rapidly, vision still flickering, Echo scrambled away from his attackers- and plummeted right into the river, the current once again taking him in its hold and forcing him down its course, limbs flaying and head spinning at the sudden submerge.

Echo kicked towards the surface, the ticking terribly loud in his ears, and gasped once again as his head came out of water. His head snapped left and right, but there were no rocks to grab onto, and he looked behind him just in time to see his attackers vanish from his sight.

He turned to face forwards, his stomach becoming cold as though he'd just poured icy water into it. The rushing was becoming louder, as though the water was falling into another pool, and there was a rather odd white mist just ahead of him.

His heart ticked faster, and Echo tried to swim back to shore, but the current had a tight hold on him, dragging him closer and closer to the waterfall. Echo opened his mouth, fear clogging his throat, heart ticking in his ears,  _"ZA-"_

He went over the edge.

* * *

The attackers had fled, dragging their unconscious friends with them. They were gone in moments, as though they'd vanished, despite the Ninja having tried running after them. There were two unconscious attackers their comrades hadn't been able to carry, having been too heavy to run with.

But they couldn't exactly interrogate dead bodies.

"Who were those guys?" asked Cole. The only thing they'd been able to savage from the attack was the blanket, and even that was torn and dirty, but Misako had insisted on keeping it. It was the same blanket she and Garmadon had used, after all. "I mean, they're not much of a threat, but we've never even  _seen_ them before."

"Dunno." Jay shrugged, "Maybe they don't like picnics?"

"We can discuss it later." Zane snapped, his voice harder than he intended it to be, one of his eyes still in need of repair. But that could wait. "Let's just focus on finding Echo."

"I'm sure he's fine, Zane." said Nya, gently, "He couldn't have gone far."

"We should split up." said Lloyd, "That way we'll be able to find him faster. We'll meet back up at the Bounty in an hour."

Zane gave him a curt nod, before turning on his heel and marching deeper into the forest, out of sight within moments. Jay sighed, a guilty look crossing his face, before he too turned and went in the opposite direction.

Those remaining shared a few glances, before splitting up themselves, Nya jogging after Jay.

* * *

It was dark. Wheels, crunching the gravel beneath them, bouncing as they hit slightly large rocks and potholes in the road. The only light came from the teeny weeny little crack between the trucks doors, and the two identical glowing eyes on a cracked face plate, the owner of which lay curled into a tight ball in the furthest corner, hands and feet bound by thick, heavy chains.

If robots could cry, Echo would be.

He was still dripping wet from his trip down the waterfall, and his body was covered in scrapes and dents. While the water had washed away most of the mud from earlier, he was still covered, having crawled out onto an even muddier bank. The crack in his face plate was terrible, ugly, going from the tip of his left eyebrow to his right cheek, jagged and filled with muck, a small leaf stuck in it.

On top of that, he was terribly sore.

They'd found him only moments after he'd crawled to shore. Then electricity bolted through him, striking his clockwork heart, going to the tips of his fingers to the ends of his toes. He must have blacked out, because he'd awoken here, in the back of this truck, chained, and very, very scared.

The ride lasted hours, perhaps even days. The door was never opened, and the trucks stops were brief and far between. Echo tried multiple times to break his bounds, to open the doors, to find  _some_ way out. But the truck was as thick as a dragons hide, as strong as a tank, and no matter how much he punched, kicked, screamed and dry sobbed, there was no getting out.

He'd pounded his aching fists against the wall where the driver seat must be, screaming and yelling for them to let him out. But much like the tiny creature, they either had bad hearing or didn't care. He heard no sounds coming from their end either, be it music from a radio or a brief exchange of words. Perhaps he just couldn't hear it.

Echo dragged himself back to his little corner, curling into yet another metal ball, tucking his head between his knees. His shoulders began to shake, and he once again found himself crying without tears, just broken little sobs passing his mud caked lips, fogged yellow eyes clenched shut. At first, he'd screamed his brothers name, screamed it until his throat was raw, clawed at the impenetrable walls like an animal trapped in a box.

But now his screams had been reduced to quiet whimpers, hardly audible to even his own ears. There was nothing but the quiet ticking of his clockwork heart, nothing but his own strangled cries and pleads for help. For his brother.

He just wanted Zane.


	5. Dripping

_Chapter Five:_

Dripping

* * *

The hunger didn't set in until sometime what Echo guessed to be the next morning, or late night. He may have been a robot- or a nindroid, as Jay insisted on calling him (he didn't understand why; he wasn't a ninja)- but he still needed to eat. Why else would he do so while stuck in the lighthouse?

But he was forced to ignore the pains in his stomach, still curled into his little ball in the corner of the truck, not moving in an attempt to save as much energy as possible. He kept his eyes closed, the pain from his cracked faceplate slowly fading to that of a dull throb. He felt like a giant bruise.

The truck came to an abrupt halt, causing Echo to gasp as he went slamming into the wall he was curled up against, pain flaring up his face as it collided with the cool metal. A whimper passed his lips as he clutched at his head, curling into a tighter ball, eyes clenching shut.

There was the sound of something jingling as it was inserted into something, soon followed by clicking and the rattle of chains. Echo's heart ticked faster, his shackled hands starting to shake, slowly raising his head to look at the small light peeking through the space between the two large doors. He could hear voices, almost as if someone had lifted a sound barrier that had previously blocked most of his hearing.

For a moment, he thought that it might be Zane. But then the doors swung open, and his clockwork heart plummeted to his stomach. For it wasn't Zane that stood before him, nor was it any of the other Ninja. It wasn't even a face he recognized, let alone defined as friendly.

"Boss is going to be  _so_ happy with us." one was saying, as he and his friend clambered into the back of the truck. They were wearing black rags, chipped and flimsy swords holstered at their hips, and had some rather odd purple tattoos on their faces and arms, although it appeared that they were slowly covering them with multi-colored snake ones. His friend nodded in agreement.

"Yup! I still can't believe they were able to capture one of the  _Ninja_!" they stopped in front of Echo, grinning down at the shaking bot. Ever so slowly, their smiles faded, replaced by slightly confused expressions.

"Er... that's the Titanium Ninja?" asked the first one, rubbing at his head. The second one shrugged.

"I, uh, I dunno, he's a lot less... deadly, then I remember." He shook his head, reaching down and grabbing the chains linking the bot's hands together. Echo tried to scramble back into his corner, but he was unwillingly dragged out and onto his knees, the ticking of his clockwork heart terribly audible. The two shared another confused look, before shrugging, and pulling a sack over Echo's head.

He was tossed onto one of their backs like a sack of spare parts, and curled into another ball as they started walking, the bag jostling violently when they jumped out of the back of the truck. He heard snow crunch beneath their feet, the icy wind blowing through the thin fabric and slapping him in the face.

He wondered how it had gotten so cold so fast. But then again, who knows how long he'd been in that truck, let alone where they were.

Something poked at him through the sack. It felt like the metallic tip of something long and sharp.

"Don't try to escape, Ninja." the owner of the sword said, trying (and, admittedly, failing) to sound threatening, "Or- Or else!"

The one carrying him laughed. He could feel it rumble through the back he was pressed against. "Good one."

"Thank you."

Voices. Other voices. Calls and yells. The sound of something heavy pounding against wood, the creak of boards and something else, something he couldn't quite place. He was too frightened, his mind too jumbled, to take everything in properly with only his hearing.

"Man, where did all this snow come from?" asked the one carrying him, "Wasn't it all sunny and stuff a couple days ago?"

Echo could almost hear the other one shrug. "No idea. But I hope it goes away soon. These rags aren't all that warm."

The noise of what Echo assumed to be civilization became muffled, and they came to a stop. Something was toggled, like a switch or some sort of lever, and there was the sound of stone grinding against stone, much like his secret door back at the lighthouse. Then they were walking again, this time going down stairs based off the bouncing motion the bot was no experiencing, and once again the sound of stone grinding against stone as what he was assuming to be a door closed behind them.

He was shaking again.

"So is it true?" someone else asked, their voice croaky and hoarse, "You've captured one of 'em?"

"Sure have!" one of his captors declared cheerfully, "Kapow and Chope, best of the best, fiercest of the fierce, smartest of-"

"Okay, I get it." Hoarse cut him off, sounding vaguely annoyed, "Just get him to Jerhys."

Echo gasped as he was, once again, jostled about in the sack, his captors hastily moving on at the man with the hoarse voice's command. After a moment, they slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. There was the sound of a door opening, and then Echo was abruptly flung onto the ground, igniting a pained cry from the bot. There was a short pause.

"That him?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" one of the tattooed men said, nudging at the sacked Echo with his foot, "The Titanium Ninja!"

"Let me see him."

Immediately, two pairs of hands grabbed at the sack, pulling and yanking, leaving Echo to tumble out in a heap of shaking metal limbs and parts. Ticking in his ears, he pushed himself up on trembling arms, raising his head to take in his surroundings.

He was in a small room with rough stone walls, a few bookshelves pressed against them, decorated with worn books and stained glass bottles filled with substances he had never seen before. There was a wooden desk, chipped and scratched and in desperate need of repairs, along with an armchair that wasn't in much better condition.

Then someone appeared right in front of him, so that he was kneeling at their feet, and he slowly raised his head, his fogged yellow eyes meeting deep ocean blue.

The man before him was tall, at least six foot, and Echo had to tilt his head all the way back to get a proper look at his face. He had crimson red hair streaked with grey, his face lined from old age, his arms coiled with thick muscles, the bottom of his face covered in stubble. His hands were scarred, crisscrossing and jagged, gained from days of hard labor, and he was missing three fingers, two on his right and one on his left.

Eyes narrowing, the man stepped forward, grabbing Echo's chin harshly and getting right in his face, his rotten, yellow teeth bared like a wolves. The bots trembling increased, his breath coming in ragged gasps and his clockwork heart ticking so fast he could barely decipher one tick from another.

The man's ocean blue eyes flashed in confusion, before his face twisted into a look of pure rage, and he roughly pushed Echo to the ground, pain flaring up his faceplate like fire as it collided with the rough stone.

He ignored Echo's pained cries, spinning around to face the two that had brought him here, his face almost turning purple, hands curled into fists. The two took a step back, their previously proud smirks replaced with looks of terror.

" _This_ ," the man spat, " _Is not the Titanium Ninja._ "

"I-Is it not?" one of the stuttered, the both of them backing away as their boss advanced on them, "A-A-Are you sure?"

"Does  _THAT_ -" he grabbed the one that had talked by the throat, pulling him forwards so that he was looking at Echo, pointing at the bot, "Look like  _the Titanium Ninja?!_ "

"I-I-I t-think so?"

This was the wrong thing to say, because the enraged man flung him into the second one, nearly knocking them both to the ground. " _He's not even made of titanium, you imbeciles!_ "

"We're not the ones that captured him!" the second one blurted, shaking almost as much as Echo, "I-It was-"

He never got to finish his sentence. The man lunged forwards, a flash of silver momentarily blinding the bot. He blinked, rubbing at his eyes, and gasped.

The second one gurgled, eyes wide, his once terror-filled face now one of surprise. Crimson liquid bubbled in his mouth, around the blade lodged in his throat, dripping down his chin, over his ragged tunic, permanently staining the fabric.

"K-Kapow?" his friend stuttered, eyes wide with horror. Kapow fell to his knees, his front covered in crimson, still gurgling, and then he face-planted the ground, the rest of the blade coming out the back of his neck. "K-Karl?!"

He fell to his knees besides his friends body, tears streaming down his face, his hands hovering above his friend as though he could magically heal him. A sob wracked his form. "K-K-Karl?"

The man took a few deep breaths, as though attempting to calm himself. He wiped his hand on his shirt, leaving a red stain, a regretful look crossing his face as he looked at what he'd done. He sighed.

"I knew I should've brought back someone else." then, shaking his head, he looked down at Echo, who was staring at the tattooed men lying in a pool of red, eyes wide with shock. "But... perhaps you can be of use, little one."

Echo couldn't tear his eyes from Kapow, lying face-down, his friend sobbing at his side and repeating his name over and over again. A terrified sob shook Echo's shoulders, soon followed by another, and he curled into another ball on the hard floor, bawling, the man reaching down with his three-fingered hand and petting his hair as though he were a dog.

"No!" Echo gasped, jerking away from the mutilated hand, scrambling backwards until his back hit the desk, his shackles rattling alongside his trembling body, "G-Get a-away from m-me!"

The door banged open, slamming against the wall so hard that the end of the handle chipped off. Echo jumped, heart in his throat, banging his head against the edge of the desk in the process. Four people entered, faces hidden behind ragged shawls, except three were white and one was a poisonous green, rather than the usual black he'd seen so far. They were all barefoot, weapons strapped to their waists, backs and legs, the skin that he could see a sickly pale grey color.

The man glanced at them, seemingly not surprised by their sudden entrance. He gestured to Kapow's body, his friend still sobbing at his side, having turned him onto his front and pulled out the knife, now covered in crimson himself. "Get someone to see to them."

Silently, one of the white ones bowed, and for the first time Echo noticed a symbol on their forehead in a blue so dark it could be mistaken for black at first glance. It was 泥, the Japanese word for 'dirt.' Straightening, Dirt turned on their heel and made their way out the door, presumably to get a few things. Once they were gone, the man pointed to Echo, and immediately those remaining marched towards him, hands outstretching to grab him.

Eyes widening, Echo rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet, raising his shackled, shaking fists. Undeterred, Poisonous looked at the other two in white, gesturing with their head to Echo. Nodding in unison, the two in white- who also had symbols on their foreheads, 残り火 and 力, Japanese symbols for 'embers' and 'force'- lunged towards Echo like cats after a mouse.

With a terrified squeak, Echo leaped up, his feet planting onto the ceiling and sticking there. Force and Embers landed on the floor, but quickly jumped to their feet, looking up at Echo with hard, emotionless eyes. From their curved bodies and the two bumps on their chests, Echo identified them as female, although he still wasn't so sure about the one in poisonous green.

Embers cupped her hands together, allowing Force to place her foot in it and leap up towards Echo, wrapping her arms around the bots waist before he could even react. Echo struggled to knock her off, elbowing her in the ribs, but her grip stayed strong, as though she had suction cups on her palms.

Then Embers jumped up, grabbed Echo around the head, and pulled them both off the ceiling, the two girls landing on Echo's back on their bare feet. The man tutted, shaking his head, as Embers and Force forced Echo to his feet. "Now, now, little one. Play nice with the girls, yes?"

"You won't get away with this!" Echo declared, although his shaking voice and hands took away the effect, "My brother will come for me!"

"Oh, don't worry, little one." the man purred, as Force and Embers dragged the scared bot towards the door, Dirt returning with two stone-faced men and a large trash bag, "You're brother will know you're with us soon enough. Just remember to give the camera a little smile."

The door closed behind them, muffling the screams of the first one as they dragged him away from his friends cold body, and a sack was once again stuffed over Echo's head.

* * *

Zane's shiny fingers flew across the keyboard rapidly, his determined eyes glued to the screen, jaw clenched and brow furrowed in concentration. The room was dark, with nothing but the glow of the bridge's screen and a candle on the table, the wax down to a stub. There was a knock on the door, but he didn't turn to look. He had to find him.

"Er, Zane? Buddy?" It was Cole. The nindroid ignored him. A sigh. "Look, Zane, you haven't slept in two days, and we both know even nindroids need their sleep. How about you-"

"I'm not going to bed, Cole." Zane cut him off, still not tearing his eyes from the screen. It flashed red. He tried again. "I have to find him."

"And then what?" asked Cole, moving to stand next his ice brother, "You won't be able to get him back even if you did know his location, not if you're too tired to even think straight."

"I'm not tired."

 _"Actually,"_ said PIXAL, abruptly appearing on the bridge and making Zane scowl,  _"You're running on back-up power."_

The ghost crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows at the nindroid, "See? Even PIXAL agrees with me."

Zane looked down, glaring at the floor as though it had personally offended him. "A month." he muttered, after a long moment, "He was here for a month."

Cole's face softened, and he reached out, his green hued hand solidifying so that he could touch the droids shoulder. "It's not your fault, you know."

"Yes, it is." Zane insisted, turning to look at his ghostly brother, "It was me that insisted on going to get him from the lighthouse in the first place."

"Well, why wouldn't you?" Cole asked, "If I'd found out that I had a long lost little brother, I'd want to immediately go get him too."

When Zane remained silent, PIXAL was the one that spoke up.  _"Go to bed, Zane. I'll stay here and continue the search."_

"I can't sleep." said Zane, turning back to the keyboard, "Even if I got into bed, I doubt I'd actually be able to close my eyes long enough to fall into Rest Mode."

"We  _will_ find him." Cole said. He reached down and took Zane's hand in his, giving it a squeeze, "Just not tonight. A brother of yours is a brother of mine."

Zane was silent for a long moment, staring at the map of Ninjago. Finally, he gave a defeated sigh, and stood up, Cole and PIXAL sharing a triumphed smile. "Come on, brother." said Cole, wrapping an arm around the nindroids slumped shoulders and steering him towards the door, "We'll find our little guy in the morning."

 _"Do not worry, Zane."_ PIXAL called after them,  _"I'll be keeping an eye out."_

The nindroid looked over his shoulder at her regretfully, obviously still rather reluctant to stop searching, but obediently kept walking when Cole gave him a little tug outside the door. He bowed his head, looking at the floorboards but not really seeing them.

He was a terrible older brother.

Cole turned the handle to their shared bedroom, swinging the door open and revealing a scene Zane hadn't expected. Instead of the others sleeping in their beds, all the blankets and pillows had been piled into the center of the room, the other Ninja curled on top of them in a tangle of sheets and limbs. Upon hearing the door opening, three heads rose to look at them, faces lighting up once they realized who the ghost had returned with.

"Why are you all on the floor?" asked Zane, keeping his voice quiet as to not wake Lloyd, who's head rested on Kai's stomach, "Are the beds in need of repairs?"

Nya shook her head. "Nah, we just decided to have a little sleep over." Zane blinked.

"We share the same room."

"Ugh," Cole groaned, pushing Zane towards the pile, "Enough logic. Just get in."

Shrugging, Zane crawled into the heap, wrapping himself in one of the blankets, his head brushing with Jay's. Cole clambered in after him, despite barely ever needing to sleep, curling up near Lloyd's feet with a pillow clutched to his chest. Nya settled in herself, resting her head on Jay's shoulder, who smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer.

Closing his eyes, Zane snuggled deeper into the blankets, feeling better now that he was surrounded by the rest of his siblings. If only one of them hadn't been missing, then otherwise this would have been perfect.

* * *

"Seamus Dewer." Detective Tommy read aloud, "Born July sixteenth. Lost his parents in a car accident when he was seventeen, married when he was nineteen. Went missing after the Devourer incident. Was presumed dead ever since."

"Where has he been all this time?" asked Lloyd, squinting through the two-way glass at the man on the other side, "He couldn't have just reappeared."

Detective Simon shook his head. "He won't speak. Say's he'll only talk to the Ninja. We didn't plan on actually contacting you, but, well... then he showed us a few pictures."

Kai raised an eyebrow at him. "Pictures?"

Looking somber, Simon picked a yellow file up off the desk next to him, flipping it open and pulling out a small stack of pictures. He handed them to Lloyd, who took one look at them and went terribly pale. "Oh no."

"What?" asked Jay. Nya peered over Lloyd's shoulder, gasping and putting her hands to her mouth, immediately turning away. Jay's eyes flashed in concern. "What is it?" He, Cole, Kai and Zane moved to stand next to their green leader, eyes widening and mouths falling open upon realizing what the pictures were of.

It was Echo. A jagged crack ran down his faceplate, his entire body covered in mud and dirt. One of his eyes were dull, like the light had been broken, and his leg was twisted at a stomach-churning angle, gears and screws hanging out of place, some missing entirely. He was lying on a stone floor, and in most of the pictures he was alone, but in three there was a person with him, face hidden behind a ragged shawl. In one, the person had a fistful of Echo's hair. In another, he was standing on his broken leg. In the third, he was holding a baseball bat.

"Oh my god." Jay breathed, strangled voice barely above a whisper. When Lloyd looked at him, he was startled to find his eyes were shinning with tears.

Shaking metal fingers closed around the pictures, pulling them out of Lloyd's hands. All eyes turned to Zane, who's face was oddly blank, as he shuffled through the small stack. He stopped at the one of Echo lying on the floor, his yellow eyes wide with terror as he looked at the ones doing this to him.

 _"Zane,"_  PIXAL's voice was quiet, soft, as though she were talking to a scared animal,  _"Are you... alright?"_

"I'm fine, PIXAL." Zane muttered, almost automatically. His siblings shared concerned looks, before Kai reached out and gently tugged the pictures out of the nindroids unresisting hands.

"Dewer showed up around four in the morning," Tommy continued, his own voice uncharacteristically soft, "Wearing rags and with nothing but these pictures and a letter."

"Do any of you know who the person... with Echo is?" asked Simon, "In the pictures?"

The Ninja looked at one another. Slowly, Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. A bunch of people wearing rags attacked us in the woods only moments after Echo-Zane went missing. But we've got no idea who they are, or what they would want with Zane's little brother."

"What does the letter say?" asked Cole, crossing his arms and leaning against one of the desks. Simon pulled a yellowing piece of paper out of a file, clearing his throat.

"We have one of your own. Take his place, and he won't be harmed any more than he already has. Signed, Carrot."

Jay snorted, although it was still painfully obvious he was holding back tears, his smile looking rather forced. "What kind of name is Carrot?"

"Do you think we could have a little chat with this Seamus Dewer guy?" asked Nya, stepping closer to Jay and taking his hand in hers in an attempt to comfort him. Tommy nodded.

"Right this way." the two Detectives led them to the door, Simon pulling out a key and inserting it into the lock, turning it and igniting a small clicking sound.

"We'll be watching from the two way window." Tommy explained, "Just in case he's not all that he seems. Although I doubt you'll need any help if that's true."

Zane gave him a curt nod, following Lloyd and the others into the interrogation room. Dewer's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening, his eyes lighting up as he took in their attire.

He had black hair streaked with green, and dark brown eyes that glinted in the light. His skin was pale, as though he hadn't seen daylight in months, and he was wearing black jogging bottoms and a black hoodie, probably to replace the rags he'd worn previously.

"So," said Lloyd, plopping down in the only seat across from Dewer, his team gathering around him, "You're the one that brought the pictures in?"

Dewer nodded. "Yes." his voice was hoarse, like it had been a long while since he'd last spoke, "They promised to let me go if I delivered them to you."

Kai blinked. "Wait, who promised to let you go?"

Dewer took a deep, shaky breath, bowing his head to stare at the table top. After a moment, he sighed, reaching up to run his fingers through his green streaked hair. "Well, to start things off, they call themselves Basilisk."

"Basilisk?" Jay repeated, "As in the snake from Harry Potter?"

Dewer frowned. "Who's Harry Potter?"

A beat of silence. "You're dead to me."

"This 'Basilisk' group." Lloyd cut in, "Who are they?"

"And how do you know them?" asked Zane.

"Only a little while after the Devourer destroyed Ninjago," Dewer began, "My wife, daughter and I went looking for a new place to live, but we were ambushed, taken prisoner. We were thrown into the back of a truck and left there for days on end. By the time we got to where we were going, I'd lost count of the minutes that had passed."

"Where did they take you?" asked Nya. Dewer shook his head.

"No idea. We were stuffed into sacks and taken to their base or something. 'Fraid I can't tell you were it is."

Kai sighed. "Darn."

"After around a year," Dewer continued, "Or at least it felt like a year, we tried to escape with another prisoner, called himself Kaze. We made it outside our cells, but the place was like some sort of labyrinth, and before we knew it, we were lost. We'd only ever been to our cells and the factory."

"What did Basilisk want with you and Kaze in the first place?" asked Lloyd.

"My family and I were just taken as slaves." said Dewer, face turning bitter, "Kaze, on the other hand, told me that he'd refused to help Basilisk with something, so he was thrown into the factory with the rest of us."

"Do you know what they wanted him to do?" Zane asked.

"No. He wouldn't give us a straight answer, and would just go real quiet when we pressed him."

Jay shifted, moving so that he was leaning against Lloyd's chair. His legs were starting to get tired from standing in one place for so long. "So how did you escape the labyrinth?"

"We didn't." Dewer sighed, "We'd barely been out our cells ten minutes before we were caught and thrown back in. To teach me a lesson, he... he..." the former slave clenched his wet eyes shut. He took a shaky breath. "This was ages ago. But I'll never forget the day he put a bullet through my daughters brain."

Jay gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. Kai and Nya shared horrified looks, and Cole looked as though he was about to throw up his breakfast, if that was even possible for a ghost in the first place. Zane and Lloyd looked at each other, before turning back to the man.

"I apologize for your loss." the nindroid said, "But this... 'Basilisk' has my younger brother. Do you have any idea on how we may get him back?"

Dewer sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but no. The only reason I'm here is because they let me go to deliver the pictures and the letter. There's just no escaping Basilisk. Not alive, anyhow."

"What about Kaze?" asked Jay, "What happened to him?"

"Hell if I know." said Dewer, "After we tried to escape, we were separated, and I haven't seen him since. But I'll tell you this now," he leaned forwards, placing his elbows on the table, face serious, "Whatever Basilisk tells you, don't believe it. They're liars, the lot of 'em. I never read that letter, but I've got a damn good idea what it says, and if it's telling you to hand yourself over in place of your friend,  _don't do it_. They'll kill him either way."

"Then we'll tell them to hand him over first." said Zane simply.

"Look, I know Basilisk. They're more sly than an Anacondrai." shaking his head again, Dewer leaned back in his seat, "No. You want your little brother back, tin can, you'll have to find a way to trick 'em. And even that's gon' be difficult."

"We've faced pirates, snakes, an overlord, robots, a death tournament, ghosts, a Djinn, and Lloyd's crazy, four-armed father." listed Kai, "I think we can handle this guy."

"Don't be so arrogant." said Dewer, "Or you might wind up in a pool of your own blood."

"I'm still a bit confused," Jay admitted, "Is Basilisk the leader or the group?"

"The group." Dewer explained, "Their leader's a guy called Soren."

"Lemme guess," mumbled Cole, "He's built an artificial Happy Land."

Dewer cracked a smile at that, the first one they'd seen so far. "I suppose you could say that."

"Look, can you help us find Echo or not?" asked Lloyd. A chuckle rose passed Dewer's lips, making the blond boy's gaze harden.

"They want you to meet them at the place they attacked you." the former slave explained, "To exchange yourself for your little robot. I say that's when you play a little trick, and you all get out of there home free."

"But why are you helping us?" asked Nya, "Surely after being locked up by Basilisk for so long, you wouldn't want to risk being taken back?"

"They killed my girls." Dewer said, his voice turning as hard as a brick wall, "The least I can do is make sure their killers meet the same fate."

The Ninja were silent for a long moment, sharing looks. Then Lloyd turned back to the former slave, reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to have you aboard, Mr. Dewer."

"Please," Dewer smiled, "Call me Seamus."

* * *

Dripping. Like a faucet that wasn't turned off properly. It slid between the cracks in the rocky ceiling, dropping off and hitting the ground, creating a tiny little puddle before it was quickly soaked into the gravel as though it were sponge.

Of all things, it was the dripping that was slowly driving him crazy. On occasion, he'd catch himself wishing he was still dead, or even trapped in the Cursed Realm. At least there the cells had no constant dripping noise. The place was bone dry, being filled with ghosts and all.

He heard the sound of the cell next to his own's heavy door opening, and then a cry as someone was harshly flung inside. The door closed, quickly followed by a turning of a key and the clicking of a lock. A single sob.

How curious. That cell had been empty for ages.

Desperate for something to distract him from the dripping, he crawled over to the tiny little window, far too weak to even consider standing, it's bars as thick as his hand, and peered through them into the other cell. It was as dark as his own, a near pitch black, but unlike all the other time's he'd peered passed the bars, he could make out someone in the middle of the room, lying curled on the floor. He couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, but from the ragged breathing, it was safe to assume they were alive.

For now, anyway.

He was silent for a long moment, watching the small figure tremble in the darkness, lying on his stomach with his face right up against the cold bars. At least ten minutes passed. Perhaps twenty. "Who're you, then?"

The person jumped, and he was startled to hear a loud ticking abruptly filling the air, like a broken clock. They twisted around to face him, glowing yellow eyes staring at the wall for a moment, before going down to the tiny window on the floor. He blinked. It was a rather familiar looking nindroid.

"Zane?"

Zane stared at him for a long moment, his entire body trembling, much to his surprise. He wondered what they could have done to him to have achieved such a reaction, from a Ninja, no less. "I-I am Echo. Zane is m-my older brother."

He blinked again, face morphing into a look of surprise. "I never knew he had a brother."

"We only discovered this recently."

"Huh." A beat of silence. "How'd you end up here, Echo?"

"I was playing." the nindroid said, the ticking slowly becoming quieter, "And they threw me into a truck."

"Ah."

They descended into silence again. Echo laid down on his side, curling up, although he never tore his eyes from the window. The dripping continued.

"Who are you?"

He took a moment to answer. "A friend."

"You hesitated."

"I'm not the best person to be friends with." More dripping. He was tempted to bang his head against the bars. Maybe he'd die again if he did it hard enough.

"Do you have a name?" the nindroid asked.

"Yes." he didn't continue. The nindroid waited expectantly. He couldn't have been that old, from the innocent gleam in his fogged eyes.

"Are you going to tell me it?"

"No."

"Then what am I supposed to call you?"

Silence followed the question. The dripping became audible again. A sigh broke it.

"Kaze." he turned around, so that his back faced the nindroid. "You can call me Kaze."

Behind him, the nindroid gave a tiny smile, wincing as his faceplate burned at the action. But then again, his entire body was burning. "It's nice to meet you, Kaze."

His only answer was more dripping.


	6. Hsterical

_Chapter Six:_

Hysterical

* * *

The picnic area was ruined, the table snapped in half, the top of the grill lying in a ditch, blood staining the leaves. The two bodies had been removed, and the area was surrounded by bright yellow police tape, but other than that, the place was exactly how they'd left it.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Jay, his voice quiet. Never know when someone's eavesdropping. "For all we know, this could be a massive trap!"

Seamus shook his head, now wearing a copper red jacket and jeans, squinting into the trees, "They'll be here."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Lloyd. Above him, a squirrel scampered across a tree branch, rustling the leaves and making Jay jump.

Seamus raised an eyebrow in Lloyd's direction. "Who's the one that has actually  _met_ Soren?"

 _"My sensors detect a small group approaching from the East."_ said PIXAL _._

Zane nodded. "PIXAL says someone's coming."

"How many?" asked Nya. Zane was silent for a moment.

"Four. Approaching from the East."

Immediately, they all turned to face East, hands reaching for their weapons. For a long moment, there was nothing but the tweeting of the birds, the soft blow of the wind, ruffling their hair and clothes.

Then came the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, and four figures wearing white appeared between the trees, two of who were carrying a large, brown sack. Big enough to fit a person.

"Doro." said Seamus, looking surprised, "Chikara, Nokoribi, Yuki. Figures they'd send you."

"Wait, those are their names?" asked Kai, "Like, their real names?"

"Dewer." said one of the White Women, presumably Doro. "We had expected you to leave after delivering the message. This... complicates things."

"No, it doesn't." said Zane, taking an almost threatening step forward. His eyes shifted to the sack. "Where's my brother?"

"Unconscious." said Chikara simply.

"I'm just here to make sure Echo-Zane makes it back to Ninjago." Seamus explained. The women still looked suspicious, but they pressed no further.

"Fair enough." Doro nodded at Nokoribi and Yuki, the two carrying the sack. They nodded back and stepped forwards, setting the sack down on the forest floor, but they didn't back away. Instead, they pulled out six pairs of handcuffs, their dark, shiny chains clanking and rattling against each other. Vengestone.

"Is, uh, is that really necessary?" asked Cole, eyeing the handcuffs warily. The two women just stared at him, faces as blank as a new sheet of paper.

"We're coming willingly." said Lloyd, crossing his arms, "You don't have to cuff us."

Nokoribi and Yuki looked at each other, then at Doro and Chikara. After a moment, they turned back to the Ninja and former slave, and slid the handcuffs back under their white rags.

Surprised, but no less relieved, the Ninja stepped forwards, Zane's eyes darting down to the sack. He moved to grab it, but Yuki lashed out, grabbing his titanium forearm in a vice like grip.

Tense silence descended upon the destroyed picnic spot. Slowly, Zane raised his eyes to the women's, secretly startled by just how strong a hold she had on his arm.

"Zane," Seamus hissed from behind them, although it sounded incredibly loud in the previously solid silence, "Don't."

The nindroid wasn't entirely sure what he was being told not to do, but he got the message. He took a step back from the sack, Yuki letting him go immediately, his electric blue eyes glaring into her blank, unnaturally white ones.

"Well," Jay chuckled nervously, breaking the silence, "Not that this hasn't been fun or anything, but, uh, how about we get this thing up and moving?"

The four women stared at him, causing the blue wearing boy to shift uncomfortably. Then Nokoribi reached out and grabbed Jay's wrist, who gave a rather unmanly squeak at the abrupt move, only for Kai's fist to connect with her jaw.

There was enough force in the blow to knock Nokoribi's head to the side, but she recovered so fast it was almost as though she's never been hit at all. Releasing Jay's wrist, she pulled her own fist back and aimed for Kai's face, which the fire ninja ducked, only to be kneed in the chin, his teeth slamming into his tongue and filling his mouth with the copper taste of blood.

The others sprang into action, both Ninja and White Women alike, clashing together in a flurry of kicks and punches.

Kai twisted around, grabbing Nokoribi's arm and moving to flip behind her, but Nokoribi grabbed the arm holding her other and flipped  _him_ , slamming him onto his back and forcing the air out of his lungs.

There was a loud, pained scream, and Kai's head snapped towards the source just in time to see Jay collapse onto the ground, Chikara standing over him with a long knife in her hand, crimson sliding across it and dripping onto the leaves at her feet.

With a cry of rage, Kai spun himself around, gaining a surprised gasp from Nokoribi as he twisted her arm and kicked at the back of her knees, knocking her into the dirt.

Kai leaped to his feet, clicking his fingers together and igniting a ball of flames, the red and orange mix dancing across his palm and on the tips of his fingers harmlessly.

He pulled his arm back and launched the fireball like a catapult, sending the flames soaring through the air. Chikara turned around, looking up just in time for the fire to hit her right in the face.

She screamed, so high pitched that it made Kai's ears throb, clawing at her shawl as it caught aflame, the smell of burning hair and flesh hitting their nostrils and making Nya gag.

Kai's victorious grin fell, replaced with horror as he watched Chikara scream in pain, yanking her shawl off her head and throwing it onto the ground. Her face was shiny and red, blood covering half her head, her hair charred and burned and still burning, smoke lifting off her in clouds. She held her trembling hands up to her face, as though tempted to touch it but not daring to, tears leaking out from beneath her closed eyes. This must have only made things worse, because she opened her mouth and screamed even louder than before. The smell of burnt hair and flesh had only gotten stronger, and out of the corner of his eye, Kai saw Jay roll onto his stomach and vomit. At least he was okay enough to do so.

Something rammed into him, knocking him back into the dirt, and Nokoribi raced past him and grabbed Chikara's hand. Doro and Yuki snapped out of their own shock and shoved the closest Ninja to them into the dirt, following Nokoribi as she dragged a blinded and screaming Chikara into the woods, and they were soon out of sight, Chikara's screams able to be heard for miles.

Kai stumbled to his feet, heart thumping, fingers trembling. Numbly, he turned to look down at Zane and Lloyd, the other two that had been shoved to the ground, who stared back at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"O-Oh god." Cole groaned, looking greener than usual, "That- I- I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"Jay?" Kai said, hating how his voice shook ever so slightly, "You okay? "

"Huh?" Jay blinked slowly, pressing a hand against the hole in his shoulder, the blue fabric stained red, "Oh. Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little, uh, s-sore."

"Let me see." said Zane, moving to kneel beside his wounded brother, who let out a small hiss upon removing his hand. The nindroid glanced at the abandoned sack, sitting on the forest floor, unmoving. During their brief fight, they'd moved away from it, Seamus starting to make his way over to Jay and Zane, rummaging through his bag for what they guessed to be something to help stop the bleeding.

Kai nodded at Zane and started making his way to the sack, the nindroid looking relieved before turning back to Jay, gratefully accepting a roll of bandages from Seamus.

The fire ninja knelt besides the sack, starting to struggle with the knot. "Alright, Ech." he muttered, "How 'bout we get you home, yeah?"

The rope gave away, and he opened the sack, his golden brown eyes taking in the rusty metal and wires inside, before widening just as the countdown reached zero.

The blast sent birds flying into the sky with screeches of terror, squirrels skittering into trees and rabbits leaping for cover. A green, see-through dome appeared around a small group near the blast, the sound of the explosion leaving their ears throbbing and ringing, the ground shaking and trembling like a small earthquake.

Not too far from the site of the explosion, screams of agony turned into giggles, and then into hysterical laughter.

* * *

Echo was quick to learn that Kaze wasn't one for much talking. Perhaps it was simply his personality, or it could have been that he was too weak to do anything but sleep.

The hunger pains in his artificial belly had increased, rumbling loudly in the silence and gnawing at his insides like starving termites that had just been introduced to a house made entirely out of wood. But from the way Kaze looked like a living skeleton, Echo doubted the termites would be satisfied anytime soon.

"How do you know my brother?" Echo asked, leaning against the rocky wall next to the little window. Kaze sighed.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh." Echo stared at the wall across from him, memorising the cracks, the dents, running his dirty fingers across the uncomfortable floor, "How long have you been here?"

"I don't know." He heard Kaze shift, probably in a useless attempt to get into a more comfortable position, "Why do you ask so many questions?"

Echo blinked. "I suppose I am just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"But satisfaction brought it back."

Startled silence. Then Kaze gave a hoarse laugh, and it was rather obvious by the sound that it had been quite awhile since he'd done so. Echo smiled.

"I've never heard  _that_ part before."

"It's not very well known, is it?" Echo hummed, "My father taught me all sorts of riddles and sayings like that."

"Really?" said Kaze, actually seeming interested. This had been the longest conversation they'd ever had. "Like what?"

"Well..." Echo racked his memory unit, delighted to have a distraction from the termites eating away at his insides, "He taught me that the darkest nights produce the brightest stars. He taught me that a broken crayon still has the ability to color." Kaze remained silent. Echo continued.

"He taught me that every gear, every screw, is important. That if only one were to go missing, the whole thing would be broken."

"What about the spare gears?" Kaze asked, "The ones that aren't needed?"

"If there are spares," said Echo, raising a finger and running it along his metal chest, scraping at the dried dirt and mud, "If there are parts that aren't needed in the project, he'd keep them, and use them in another."

Kaze remained silent. Echo dropped his hand back to his side, leaning down to look through the bars into the others cell. Kaze lay on his side just out of reach, his back to the window.

"Do you know any sayings?" the nindroid asked.

Kaze was silent for a long moment, before rolling onto his back and pushing himself up on his elbows, a slight frown on his brow as he turned to look at Echo. "Well... there was this poem that I really liked when I was a child..."

Echo waited patiently for him to continue. Kaze shrugged.

"I-It's really stupid, just forget I said anything."

"But I want to hear it"

"It doesn't even make any sense-"

"Pretty please?"

Kaze faltered, looking at Echo hesitantly. Finally, he sighed, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. "Fine."

Echo grinned, immediately regretting it when his faceplate burned as though a hot knife had been pressed against it. He waited, shifting impatiently, as Kaze gathered his thoughts and did his best to remember the poem.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "Skinny and stout, I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about; Admission is free, so pay at the door, now pull up a chair and sit on the floor."

Echo almost asked why he would sit on the floor if he had pulled up a chair, but caught himself. He didn't want to interrupt.

"One bright day in the middle of the night," Kaze continued, "Two dead boys got out to fight. Back to back, they faced each other, they drew their swords and shot each other."

Kaze's eyes had glazed over, staring at the ceiling but not seeing it. Echo laid down on his side, his head right up to the bars. He found that he quite liked the poem so far, despite being utter nonsense.

"A blind man came to watch fair play, a mute man came to shout 'Hooray!' A deaf policeman heard the noise and came and killed those two dead boys."

Kaze went silent, frowning as he struggled to remember the rest. Echo scooted closer to the bars, wanting to hear more.

"Er... Oh! He lived in the corner in the middle of the block, in a two-story house on a vacant lot. A man with no legs came walking by, and kicked the lawman in the thigh."

Kaze looked away from the ceiling, locking eyes with Echo. A small smile was tugging at his lips, although he didn't seem to notice.

"He crashed through the wall without making a sound, into a dry creek bed and suddenly drowned; the long black hearse came to cart him away, but he ran for his life and is still gone today."

A drop of cold water fell from the ceiling, landing on the back of Echoes neck and making him jump. Kaze didn't seem to notice.

"I watched from the corner of the big round table, the only eyewitness to the facts of my fable; but if you doubt my lies are true, just ask the blind man, he saw it too."

Clapping broke the silence that followed, making both Echo and Kaze jump in surprise, hearts leaping into their throats. Echo twisted around as the door to his cell opened the rest of the way, revealing a ghostly man with slicked black hair and small, intelligent eyes with a wide smirk to boot.

"I never knew you to be one of such... poetic nonsense." the ghost hummed, his voice either high pitched or really deep. Echo was having trouble telling which one it was.

"What are  _you_ doing here?" spat Kaze, glaring at the new arrival through the windows bars. From the way his pale cheeks were hinting pink, Echo realized he must be slightly embarrassed about being caught speaking poems.

"Oh, I'm just here for the nindroid." said the ghost, stepping further into the cell and grabbing Echo's arm, not seeming to even notice his desperate struggles, or the ticking that filled the air out of nowhere.

"What?" gasped Kaze, "Why?"

"Now why would  _you_ care,  _Kaze_?" the ghost asked, spitting his name as though it were an insult, or a swear word.

"Who said I do?" Kaze snarled, his eyes turning as hard as ice. A cold breeze ruffled through the open door. "I'm just curious."

"Well," said the ghost, dragging a still struggling Echo out into the hall, where two guards waited, "I'm afraid your curiosity won't be satisfied for quite the while."

Kaze opened his mouth to say something else, but he never got the chance. The cell door slammed shut, and the ghostly man dragged Echo down the hall, followed by the stoic guards. Perhaps it was just Echo's imagination, but he could have sworn he heard hysterical laughter drifting out from one of the other cells as they passed.


	7. Screams

_Chapter Seven:_

Screams

* * *

This time, there was no sack shoved over Echo's head, nor where his wrists and ankles chained together. Instead, the ghost kept a death grip on his elbow, so tight he was certain the metal was now dented. The two guards didn't even draw their flimsy, blunt weapons, just followed them from behind like bodyguards.

Echo wasn't sure how to feel about the lack of restraints. On one hand, it'll make it easier to escape. On the other, they're well aware that it would still be difficult for him to do so.

To make matters worse, they'd broken his leg earlier. Echo had done his best to repair it with nothing but his hands and a small rock, and while it was functioning, it was still painful to walk on, and left him with an incredibly obvious limp. Not only that, but it also lowered his chances of escaping on his own.

He was dragged around corner after corner, twist after twist and turn after turn. Perhaps Zane would have been able to memorize the path from his cell to where ever they were going, but Echo quickly found his mind being jumbled and confused, and soon lost any idea of the bases layout.

It was like a maze, a rather difficult one too, and even the ghostly man would sometimes hesitate when they came to a crossroad, if only for a moment. When this happened, neither guard moved to help, simply remaining silent, which was so very different from the two that had brought Echo in.

The hallways all looked alike, with their rocky walls and pothole covered floors. Every footstep bounced off the walls, every tick of his clockwork, recreating the sounds in a series of echoes. The place smelled of salty water and damp wood, the air so cold that their breaths appeared in puffs of white, and quite a few of the potholes were filled with small puddles, which the ghost was extremely careful to avoid.

Eventually, they reached a set of metal doors, their surfaces dented and scratched as though a large animal had tried to tear them down. The two guards stepped forward and pulled them open, allowing the ghostly man to pull Echo through before they closed the doors behind them, not entering the room themselves. There was the click of a lock turning.

Echo looked around the new room, his heart ticking faster and his stomach growing cold. The room was as rocky and wet as his cell, only bigger, and with lit candles scattered about seemingly at random. Workbenches, books, and half finished projects filled the room, tools lying about the mess and blueprints sitting in a large stack on a small desk. In the middle of the room was a metal table, looking as though it had been dragged there from its previous spot up against the wall.

The seven fingered man with red hair from before sat at the workbench, what appeared to be parts of an engine in front of him. If Echo had been human, his blood would have gone cold. His hands and clothes were still stained red.

"We met in the foster home." he said, not looking up from his work, "We were bullied both there and at school for our intellect, for our genius, and so since no one would befriend us, we decided to befriend each other."

The ghost shifted, an annoyed look crossing his face. His grip on Echoes arm tightened, making the bot wince. The man picked up a wrench and continued.

"Together, we did amazing things. We were practically brothers by the time we left university-"

The ghost cleared his throat, making the man come to a stop. After a moment, the ghost spoke.

"As much as your origin story is fascinating, sir," he said, "I do believe it's high time this heart of mine started beating again."

Silence followed the statement. Then the man laughed. A cold, humorless laugh that made Echo stiffen in fright, ticking filling the air.

"I have told you this once, Clouse," the man near purred, "And I will tell you it again. Get me what I want, and I'll give you what you want."

"But- But I did!" Clouse exclaimed, tugging Echo forwards, "I got you-"

"No." the man cut him off, "My children got me that one. Besides, he's not even the one I wanted."

"If your so called 'children,'" spat Clouse, "Can't capture one of the Ninja, do you honestly think-"

"If the Ninja are too difficult for you," said the man, "You could always fetch me something else."

Confusion flashed across Clouse's face, then suspicion, his eyes narrowing on the red haired man's back. "Like what?"

Finally, the man spun around in his chair to face him, grabbing an oil stained cloth and wiping his hands on it, although it did little to get rid of the blood. His ocean colored eyes darted to Echo, and then back to Clouse. "Later."

Clouse's mouth twisted downwards in displeasure, and he shoved Echo forwards, making the bot fall to his knees, before spinning on his heel and phasing through the door. Not a moment later, the two guards opened them and entered, closing the doors behind them.

The man stood up, tossing his cloth- now both red and black- onto the workbench, lazily gesturing to Echo. "Get him on the table, please."

Immediately, the two guards grabbed Echo by the arms, forcing the struggling bot to his feet and then onto the metal table with frightening ease, the ticking of his clockwork heart becoming louder. It seemed to be doing that quite often, lately.

Leather straps were buckled around his wrists, and then his ankles, before the two guards stepped away. Echo twisted and wiggled, his leg burning as he jostled it, but no matter how hard he struggled, the straps wouldn't give. So much for not being restrained.

"We built the original together." the man muttered, more to himself than Echo, an odd look in his eyes as he watched the bot wiggle about like a fish out of water. "But he was a fool. He didn't realize it's potential, the power it could hold..."

Shaking his head slowly, he turned to his stoic guards, one of which was now holding a video camera. Pulling a green and silver snake-like mask over his face, he gave them a nod, and a blinking red light appeared just above the camera lens.

"You didn't follow our instructions." the man said, his voice muffled but still understandable, picking up something out of Echo's line of sight, "So perhaps this will make you think twice."

Ticking filled his ears. "W-Wait, what are-"

The sentence was never finished, cut off by the whir of a drill and screams of pain.

* * *

_Echo sat near the door, watching curiously as Zane, Kim (was it Kim? It might have been Kyle), Cole, Jay and Lukas (he was pretty sure that's his name) had a rather competitive game on the console._

_It was a pretty violent competition as well. Jay had been shoved off the couch and smacked his head on the coffee table after elbowing Cole in the ribs and making him 'die.' Unfazed, Jay had simply grabbed his controller and proceeded to shove Leo (Liam? He really needed to learn their names) without taking his eyes off the screen, who returned the gesture with just as much ferocity._

_The only one who wasn't violently pushing and shoving was Zane, although he did shove Kai's controller out if his hands when he'd kicked him. From the annoyed exclamations coming from all five boys, a certain smirking water ninja was winning.  
_

_Having only been living on the Destiny's Bounty with them for a few days, Echo was still unused to the constant noise of his new found family. It was comforting, some what, to know someone besides Gizmo was just in the other room, but it was also frightening. Quite a few times already, a fight between the Ninja had broke out, mostly between Jay and Cole, sometimes Kai or Lloyd (Klo and Luke?), and Echo would quickly leave the room when this happened, most of the time unnoticed. The few times that he had been noticed leaving, the ones that had been fighting would be forced to apologize to him by either Sensei Wu, Misako or Zane. What they were apologizing for, however, he hadn't a clue._

_When they weren't training, saving the world or doing their own thing, more often then not they could be found in the living area shouting at the television as they digitally battled their way through baddies as themselves. Nya had been most pleased upon finding her own character in the newest version of this game, which was what they were currently playing, and had taken the lead in highest scoring almost immediately, much to the dismay of the others._

_When Zane had first spotted him watching about two or three days ago, he'd called him over and proceeded to show him how to work the controller. It had been simple enough, move one analog stick to look around, move the other to walk, press the top back button on the right to attack. He'd clumsily made his way through barely a quarter of the level before accidentally pushing Kal (Kath?) over the edge for the sixth time, causing the fiery Ninja to snap and yell at him.  
_

_Echo wasn't one to hold grudges, and had long since forgiven him, but he'd been positive at the time that they were going to send him back to the lighthouse. So, like any other rational person, he'd dropped the controller and sprinted off to hide in one of the emptier kitchen cupboards, the one right above the fridge, squeezing himself in between the pots and saucers that hadn't been able to fit in the other cupboard.  
_

_With his 'sticky feet' (the unofficial name of his climbing abilities, curtsy of Jay), he'd gotten up into the cupboard with ease. The hard part had been getting_ inside  _it, and he'd ended up banging his head on the top more than once. He'd spent ages in there, just sitting, listening to the others running about. He must have fallen asleep at some point, because when he came out, it was the middle of the night._

_Silently, he'd crept into the bedroom, not surprised to discover the Ninja fast asleep in their beds, and had crawled under the blankets and curled up next to Zane. Almost immediately, his brother had jolted in surprise, and then Echo had found himself being squished against Zane's chest. They'd fallen to sleep like that, and the next morning, Kyle had apologized for snapping at him. According to Cole, they'd been up for hours searching for him._

_Despite having accepted the apology, Echo denied playing video games with them, content to simply watch either by the door or next to them. Usually the former, since these gaming sessions could get incredibly violent, such as this one._

_Gizmo bleeped, pulling Echo from his thoughts, and the bot looked down at his little friend as he pushed a blue ball covered in white pokadots towards him, about the size of Echo's hand. Smiling, he picked it up, and Gizmo zipped over to a little ways away, closer to the other wall but not the violent game taking place on the couch._

_Echo tossed the ball towards Gizmo, who backed up a little and successfully caught it. Giving a victorious beep, he threw it back, the blue ball hitting Echo on the forehead before falling into his hands. A mechanic giggle rose from his throat, and he tossed it back to the smaller robot, who started to beep angrily when he missed, and went to fetch it from the corner._

_This went on for a little while, simply tossing the blue and white ball back and forth, the both of them having to get up on more than one occasion to fetch it **.** Echo glanced over at the Ninja as Jay gave a yell of dismay, only for the ball to hit him on the side of the head and bounce over to the couch. Blinking in surprise, he looked over at Gizmo, who gave a sheepish bleep and gestured for him to go get it._

_Sending him a playful glare, Echo climbed to his feet and made his way over to the side of the couch, bending down and scooping up the ball. As he straightened, however, Cole exclaimed something unintelligible and threw the hand holding his controller out to the side, the object smacking Echo right in the eye._

_With a pained gasp, the crack of breaking glass in his ears, Echo fell flat on his bum, dropping the ball and covering his eye with both hands. With his good eye, he saw Cole looking down at him in horror, and the others scrambling to look over the catch to see what was wrong, the video game forgotten. Behind him, Gizmo zoomed his way over, beeping at the Earth Ninja angrily and flaying his stout arms about.  
_

_Pain spiked in his broken eye, forcing a sob passed Echo's lips, breaking the shocked silence that had descended upon the Ninja. Controller clattering to the floor, Zane leaped over the back of the couch, kneeling beside his younger brother and trying to pry his hands away from his shattered eye, speaking to him gently and trying to encourage him.  
_

_Cole stumbled over to them, almost tripping over a still angrily beeping Gizmo, who seemed to be in a sort of rant, and fell to his knees next to Zane, speaking so fast that Echo had a hard time keeping up with him._

_"Oh god, Ech, I'm so sorry-"_

_"-Let me see it, Echo, I can fix it-"_

_Shaking his head frantically, Echo pulled himself out of Zane's grasp and scrambled to his feet, one hand still covering his eye, and raced blindly to the door. Before he could reach it, a hand grabbed his upper arm and pulled him back, two arms wrapping around his middle as he thrashed wildly, still sobbing._

_"-No, no, no, no, please, bud, not again-"_

-Hands, groping at his insides, ripping him apart, someone screaming and screaming and screaming, if only they would  _stop_ -

_Echo abruptly found his face buried into Zane's neck, shoulders still shaking with sobs, his feet off the ground as he was carried out of the living room. They came to a stop, and Zane tried to pry the younger bot off him to sit him down, but Echo's sobs only increased at the attempted action, his arms tightening around his brother's neck.  
_

_"Lemme see him."_

_Zane sat down, Echo curled up in his lap, and gently pried his head away from his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles on his back. Echo blinked rapidly, half his vision with a large series of cracks in it, as though he were wearing glasses with a cracked lens._

_Jay cupped his face, tilting his head back to get a better look at the broken eye. He turned to his toolbox and pulled some things out, Zane holding him close as the Lightning Ninja got to work. In a matter of moments, Jay was smiling at him and packing his tools away. "All done."_

_Sniffing, Echo blinked his newly repaired eye, Zane nuzzling his head against his own. Something small and round was shoved under his face, and the young bot looked down at it in surprise, before following the arm holding it up to Cole's face._

_"Here." he said, holding the treat closer, "As an apology."_

_"What is it?" asked Echo, hesitantly taking the round treat. Cole's mouth popped open, face morphing into a look of disbelief, leaving Echo to blink at him in surprise._

_"You've never seen_  cookie  _before?!"_

_Echo opened his mouth to ask what a 'cookie' was, exactly, but he then Cole was pushing the treat closer to his mouth quite persistently. Hesitant, Echo glanced at Zane, realizing at the back of his mind that he was still sitting in his lap, but he simply gave him a smile and a nod._

_Still a bit weary, he eyed the 'cookie' for a moment, before taking a bite out of it. His fogged yellow eyes lit up, mouth exploding with the sweet flavor, and a second later there was no cookie left to eat._

-He was being dragged, rearranged metal scraping against rocky ground, splashing in the small puddle filled potholes, crying and screaming and sobbing in agony, because it  _hurt, it hurt so much more than a broken eye_ -

_Nya chuckled. "Was that good?"_

_Echo nodded, face covered in cookie crumbs, a large smile on his face. He looked at Cole hopefully, wanting more, but the Ninja shook his head._

_"Sorry, pal, that was the last one."_

_"Maybe we can make some more." Zane suggested, Echo's smile returning at the prospect._

_"When?" asked Lloyd, "Now?"_

_Zane shrugged. "I don't see why not."_

_"Alrighty, then!" Jay said, clapping his hands together and jumping to his feet. Then, jabbing a finger at the door, "To the grocery store!"_

_"Are you sure we should all go out to the same place at once?" asked Kyle (It had got to be Kyle, right?), "You know, I love the girls and all, but I'm not really in the mood for a run."_

_"We'll just do what we always do." Lloyd shrugged, "Besides, I wanna get some M &M's."_

* * *

He'd counted the tiles on the floor six times, and the patterns on the seats four. He'd watched the clock's hands slowly tick the minutes away, and then eventually hours, counting the seconds in his head. He'd get up, walk around the room in a large circle, reach his seat again, sit back down, and then do it again. The others would sometimes glance at him, but had long ago stopped watching him repeat the cycle.

Zane sat in the seat across from his own, the faraway look in his electric eyes meaning he was either in deep thought or mentally conversing with PIXAL, perhaps both. Jay was sitting on the colorful jigsaw puzzle themed kiddie mat, Nya cuddled up next to him with her hand clutching his, and sometimes one of them, usually Jay, would reach out and move one of the balls on the bead runner in front of them.

Cole was curled up in his seat, ghostly knees pulled up to his chest, his chin resting on top of them. He was the one that watched Lloyd doing his cycle the most, his brow furrowed ever so slightly. When he wasn't watching Lloyd, he was watching the few others in the waiting room, or staring at the empty seat across from him. Seamus had returned to his temporary apartment an hour after they arrived at the hospital.

A chilly breeze fluttered in through the open window, the night sky clear and sprinkled with stars. A passing nurse pushed it shut and closed the curtains.

Eventually, Lloyd's cycle broke, and he instead just walked in a large circle without sitting down, hands in his pockets and eyes on his feet, counting every step he took. The slow, deep ticks and tocks of the wall clock was as loud as the explosion that still rang in his ears, louder then the startled and pained screams of his family, louder then the scream that had tore from his throat as he watched Kai get blasted to the other side of the field.

The Fire Ninja hadn't been the only one to be injured, although he had been the worst off. Jay's shoulder was wrapped in bandages and his arm was in a sling to avoid tearing his stitches. Cole was, of course, unharmed, since the only thing that could hurt him now was water. Nya had obtained minor burns on her forearm, which had been bandaged and applied cream, having only  _just_ been inside Lloyd's barrier. Any damage Zane had obtained during the fight had long since been repaired, and Lloyd had suffered from burned hands, having torn off the parts of Kai's clothes that had been on fire. Just like Nya, they were bandaged and applied ointment.

Out of all of them, Kai and Nya were the only ones that had any experience in siblings. Zane and Echo never had the chance to grow up together, unlike the Smiths, so they couldn't really be counted. So it wasn't very surprising that Kai had unconsciously taken on the role of eldest, mostly towards Lloyd, since he had only been eight years old when they started training him to be the Green Ninja. Even after he 'aged up,' Kai, as well as the other Ninja, had still treated him like a younger sibling, just not as young as before.

Lloyd hated that it was only now that he realized just how much he looked up to Kai, more so then any of the others. He'd been the one to save him from the volcano, had chosen him over the Fang Blade, and had even comforted him when he had nightmares, some of which had been about the volcano, most of which had been about his father.

And Lloyd knew how much Kai cared for the other Ninja as well. He'd seen the way he'd hugged Jay when he was upset about losing Nya. He'd seen the way he'd comforted Nya when she was upset about Jay avoiding her. He'd seen the way he'd left a small chocolate cake outside Cole's door when he was still depressed about being turned into a ghost. He'd heard him crying in his room after Zane had died, he'd seen how he'd pulled the newly improved nindroid into a gear crushing hug when they were reunited, he'd seen the way he'd give Echo kind, encouraging smiles when he discovered something new and became scared.

He'd seen the concerned looks he'd give him when he'd go real quiet when he remembered his deceased father. He'd seen the golden eyes peeking over the edge of one of the top bunks to look down at him in the middle of the night. He'd seen the encouraging smiles shot his way when he would get frustrated with learning a new fighting technique. He'd seen the proud spark that had lingered in his eyes when he had got it right. He'd seen the red sleeves on the arms that had wrapped around him the night he'd lost the rest of his childhood, and then again when he'd lost his father.

Scowling at the tears stinging his eyes, Lloyd plopped back down in his seat, leaning back and crossing his arms. He felt Cole's eyes boring into the side of his skull, but he didn't look up from the ground. Down on the kiddie mat, Jay moved another bead.

Lloyd hated how it was only now, when Kai could be dead long before sunrise, that he realized just how much he needed him.

The door opened, revealing a doctor with greying black hair and tired grey eyes, a clipboard tucked under his armpit and a pen clipped onto his white coat pocket. Immediately, Lloyd, Zane, Cole, Nya and Jay launched to their feet, and the doctor abruptly found five very concerned Ninja standing before him, questions flying from their mouths so fast it was hard to figure who was asking what.

"Wait, please, please, let- let me speak!" The doctor snapped, his tiredness getting the better of him. The Ninja fell silent, shifting impatiently, holding their breaths without even realizing it. The doctor sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his forehead.

"Your friend is fine."

As soon as the words left his mouth, they burst into noise again, asking if they could see him and when he could come home. Nya gave a relieved sob and buried her face into Jay's chest, who, for the first time in his life, was too overwhelmed to say anything, so instead just beamed and tried not to cry. Cole reached out and ruffled Lloyd's hair, which was already messy and dirty from the days earlier events.

"Your friend is fine." the doctor repeated, more firmly this time, obviously telling them to be quiet so he could continue, "But he's got severe burns all over his body that'll take a few months to heal properly, and could possibly leave scarring. He might need physical therapy as well, although it's certainly not the worst case I've ever seen." the doctor shook his head, as though in astonishment, "He's a toughie, I'll give 'em that."

"Could we see him, please?" asked Zane, after a short beat of silence. The doctor hesitated, looking about at them, before shaking his head sadly.

"Afraid not. Family only."

Silence descended upon the room. The five Ninja shared a look, and then, faces setting, they turned back to the doctor, Lloyd crossing his arms.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem."


	8. Shards

* * *

_Chapter Eight:_

Shards

* * *

The apartment I was residing in was small, but not terrible. There were three rooms: the bedroom, the bathroom, and the connected living room and kitchen, the carpets old and mouldy, and the tiles cracked and stained. The walls were chipped and needed repainted, and the windows had terrible drafts leaking through, although the heavy curtains strung in front of them dealt with that just fine.

It was far from the best place I'd ever stayed in, but it wasn't the worst either.

I leaned back in my tattered armchair, my fingers itching for a cigar, but I knew it was certainly not the best idea as of now. So I forced myself to remain in my seat, crossed my arms over my broad chest, tapping my foot against the stained carpet and chewing on my bottom lip, much like how I'd chew on my cigars.

The phone rang, breaking through the sound of the traffic on the street bellow. I grunted, annoyed, but got up and retrieved the device from the rickety wooden table in the middle of the kitchen.

"What?"

Tutting drifted through from the other end, causing my scowl to deepen.  _"No need to be so rude, darling."_

"Don't call me darling." I snapped. Only  _she_  had ever been allowed to call me that.

 _"Why so grumpy?_ " she asked,  _"We put one of the Ninja in the hospital. As far as I know, that's never been done before."_

"That blast was bigger than Soren said it was going to be." I pointed out, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of beer, "You could've killed Seamus."

She laughed, as though I had said something amusing.  _"Now why would I care if he lived or died?"_

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny."

 _"Well, anyway,"_  she continued, unconcerned, _"How's our poor wittle fire Ninja? Did we kill him?"_

"He's alive." I closed the fridge with my foot and made my way back into the living room, plopping down into my armchair and popping open the beer, "But he won't be out fighting anytime soon."

 _"Good."_  A pause. _"We didn't think he would be the one to open it."_

I took a pull of my beverage, letting out a long breath when I pulled away. "I got that part. How's the little guy?"

 _"Scared out of his mind, from what I've heard."_  she said,  _"They've been torturing him, too."_

I blinked, setting my beer on the coffee table. "But everything went according to plan, more or less."

_"And still is."_

A beat of silence. I nodded slowly, although she couldn't see it. "When will it have arrived?"

_"About now."_

My eyebrows raise to my hairline, and I glance at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was four in the morning. "You have any idea when they'll be shown it?"

At the back of my mind, I imagined her shrugging.  _"Probably in a couple hours or so. Tonight, at the latest."_

"I heard he might need physical therapy." I muttered, purposefully changing the subject, "The Smith boy, I mean."

There was a short moment of silence. She knew what I was doing. _"Not having second thoughts, are we?"_

"Of course not." I sneered, "As long as you give me what I want."

 _"You'll get it, don't worry."_  she was silent again, as though hesitating. My eyes narrowed. I took another sip of my beer.  _"Why do you want it, anyway?"_

"I need it." I say simply, "That's all you have to know."

A huff.  _"Fair enough. I don't understand why you don't just take it right now, though."_

"I have my reasons." I scowled. Her questions were starting to get irritating. I didn't like questions any more than I liked surprises. "Now don't you have other things to worry about?"

_"Not really. Ren's thinking about sending the nindroid's brother to the factory, though. Says it'll make him useful."_

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "First off, he's already useful. Second off, he may not be as smart or as skilled as his brother, but give him the right tools and a good opening, and he'll be off."

_"You really think that?"_

"No." I take another gulp of beer, "I know that."

 _"How so?"_  she asked, confusion evident in her voice, although it sounded as though she was trying to mask it.  _"He's only been around for a month, and there's been nothing big enough that's caught the media's attention about him, other than how he's the nindroid's little brother and all that."_

"Oh, but darling," I chuckled, shaking my head and sitting my beer back on the coffee table. My hand slides down the side of the armchair into my bag, running a long finger along the side of the teapot. I could almost hear her annoyance.

"He helped stop a Djinn."

* * *

_After Cole accidentally broke Echo's eye, he and the others did their best to take it down a notch while playing video games to avoid it happening again. While Echo highly appreciated this, he still tended to avoid the living room when they decide to put on the console, or at the very least stay away from where they were sitting._

_It wasn't like he minded very much, though. He was quite content to just play with Gizmo, draw pictures or practice the moves that Zane and the others had been teaching him. Besides, it wasn't like they were on the console twenty-four seven, unless you count Jay doing solo rounds._

_He could hear them playing in the living room from where he sat with Gizmo on the bedroom floor, a chessboard between them, yelling and grunting as though the hits their characters were receiving was actually being dealt upon them._

_Gizmo moved his rook two squares to the left, giving a victorious beep. Echo blinked, looking down at the chess board. He was unsurprised to discover that his king was in check-mate._

_The smaller bot gave a questioning beep. Echo shook his head._

_"I think I'm finished with chess for the day." he glanced around the room, taking in the three neatly made beds and the three others that looked like they'd just been hit by a tornado. "What would you like to do now?"_

_Another beep, followed by the whir of shrugging shoulders. Gizmo moved around Echo and the chess board, zooming out of the bedroom. Curious, Echo followed him, making a mental note to clean up the chess pieces later._

_The floorboards creaked loudly beneath his feet, the Bounty rocking ever so slightly from side to side, gusts of wind slamming against the sides. He glanced out one of the circular windows as he passed, the stars just starting to appear, speckled across the evening sky._

_They were about fifteen-twenty minutes from Ninjago City, hovering thirty feet in the air, above a barren landscape made up of stout trees and tall grass infested with tiny insects, arachnids and small animals like rabbits, mice and snakes._

_Gizmo sharply rounded the corner, stopping in front of the archway leading into the living room, the sound of the others playing their game becoming louder._

_Echo paused, curling a hand around the edge of the archway and poking his head through, the rest of his body hidden behind the wall._

_Zane, Nya and Cole had were taking up the couch, the Earth Elemental with his feet in Zane's lap. Jay was sitting on the floor, back pressed against Nya's legs, while Kai and Lloyd were squished together on a bean bag, pushing against each other, all six pairs of eyes glued to the screen._

_Gizmo looked up at Echo, pointing a clawed hand towards the group suggestively. Kai gave an annoyed yell, shoving Lloyd off the bean bag entirely. Echo winced, shaking his head._

_The smaller bot didn't look too happy, but he gave a reluctant bleep and continued down the hall, Echo right behind him._

"-To him?! What the hell did you-"

_Echo stopped in front of the open kitchen door, Gizmo continuing down the hall a little more before realizing he was no longer being followed. He turned around with a questioning beep, Echo's eyes going to the shelf right next to the stove, where a cream coloured jar sat._

_He wanted another cookie._

_Gizmo gave a confused bleep as he followed Echo into the kitchen, and would have probably looked bewildered if he'd had the ability to produce expressions as he watched his much larger friend drag a chair from the kitchen table over to the counter._

_Echo climbed up onto the chair and stretched as far as he could, on his tip toes, mouth twisting downwards upon realizing the jar was still out of reach. He put his knee up on the counter, pushing himself higher, his fingers brushing against the top shelf where the treats sat._

_There was a loud, exclaiming beep behind him, and Echo turned to give Gizmo a reassuring smile. "It's fine, Gizmo, I'll only have one."_

_He turned back to the jar, jaw setting in determination, and climbed up onto the counter, fingers brushing against the object's cream-coloured side. Gizmo gave a long, loud beep, starting to zoom around the table in a large circle, causing the noise from the living room to falter._

_Echo ignored him for the time being, deciding to focus on his objective, and grasped the edge of one of the lower shelves with his hand, pushing himself higher. Gizmo's scream-beeping increased, a smile spreading across Echo's metal lips as his fingers closed around the top of the jar._

_"Is that Gizmo?"_

"-Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god-"

_The bot looked down at Gizmo, smiling widely as he held up the jar for him to see, and was just about to start making his way down to him when the shelves shuddered, before giving out entirely._

_A short scream emitted from Echo's throat as he fell alongside the jars, bottles and spices, his back slamming into the top of the chair causing it to topple over and slam into the ground. Glass shattered, sending shards and grains of salt, pepper and sugar flying across the room, the cookie jar smashing right next to him and leaving a pile of broken cookies and cream-coloured shards._

_Echo blinked slowly at the ceiling, dazed, his lower half lying on the toppled chair. He was dimly aware of the pain flaming up his middle back and head, and the sound of running feet heading in his direction._

_"Echo!"_

_Groaning quietly, Echo rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself up onto his knees. He reached out, half-blind, and brushed away a few shards of creamy pottery, pulling out one of the few non-broken cookies._

_He looked up, startled to discover the Ninja standing in the kitchen doorway, gaping at him. Echo sent them a smile, holding up his treat. "Cookie!"_

-Talking, someone was talking, desperate pleas and panicked words of comfort not truly meant for him, shaky hands yanking at twisted parts and bent gears, desperately trying to be gentle and stumbling over constant apologies as the screams only got louder-

_Zane was the first to move after a long moment of simply gaping, broken glass crunching beneath his titanium feet as he made his way over to Echo. His fingers curled around his elbow as he bent down in front of him, electric eyes scanning his body. "Are you okay?"_

_"Hmm?" Echo hummed, too busy munching on his snack to properly answer._

_"Are you okay?" Zane repeated, a bit more firmly, "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"_

_Echo shook his head, taking another large bite of his cookie. Zane looked over his shoulder at his elemental siblings, most of who simply shrugged at him, before turning back to Echo as he finished off his cookie._

_Shaking his own head, Zane scooped his younger brother up, who had just enough time to grab another treat off the floor. "I'm going to, uh, take him into the living room."_

_"It's fine, Zane." said Nya, "We'll get this cleaned up." Jay groaned, but quickly fell silent when his girlfriend jammed her elbow into his ribs._

_Sending them a grateful look, Zane carried Echo into the living room, who finished his cookie seconds after they'd entered the hall. The shorter bot must have started to realize he'd done something wrong, because his smile slowly faded, and he started to fidget in his brothers arms._

_Zane sat him down on the couch, giving him a proper look-over to make sure he hadn't obtained any damage._

_"Zane?"_

_How quiet it was said startled him slightly, and Zane looked up from where he'd been inspecting Echo's side, his eyes meeting nervous, slightly fearful fogged yellow. "Yeah?"_

_"I..." Echo faltered, eyes darting away to look at the back of the couch. Zane frowned, moving to sit beside him on the cushions._

_"What is it?" he asked, "Are you hurt?"_

_"W-What? No, I'm fine, it's just..." Echo fidgeted, hunching his shoulders as though trying to make himself smaller, "You... you're not gonna... send me back to the lighthouse, are you?"_

_Zane blinked at him, mouth opening slightly, "Come again?"_

_"I-I didn't mean to break it!" the younger bot abruptly exclaimed, making the titanium droid jump, "I swear, it was an accident, I j-just wanted a cookie." he curled further into himself, almost like a ball, fearful fogged eyes looking into shocked electric blue, "Please don't send me back."_

_"Echo." Zane said, firmly, cupping Echo's face and forcing him to look at him properly, "I will never, ever, abandon you. Do you understand?"_

"-Like this! You need him alive, you won't be able to repair him if he's already gone- !"

_Echo sniffed. "I... yeah."_

_Zane smiled, pressing a small kiss to his forehead. "Good."_

* * *

The sun rose on the horizon in a spray of pink, yellow and orange, turning fluffy clouds pink, chasing away the moon and all the smaller stars. The orb's light reflected off the dust fluttering through the air, slowly turning the sky a bright blue.

The very same light sneaked through the small cracks between the curtains, casting lines of light along the walls and floor. One such line went right over a certain blackhead's face, causing said face to scrunch up in distaste, but he was quick to roll over and return to his dreams.

A soft, steady beeping broke the silence every couple seconds, like a firm, comforting hand that kept most of the room's occupants from screaming. Chairs, some of which had been dragged in from the waiting room, were pulled up as close to the bed as physically possible.

Jay Walker and Nya Smith were cuddled up on two chairs to the left of the bed, the Water Ninja's hand brushing against her brothers arm. Cole Brookestone as at the end of the bed, lounged across a single chair, legs dangling over the side, while Zane Julian rested in a lotus position next to him. Lloyd Garmadon sat on the right side of the bed, head resting next to their injured brother's shoulder, sitting in a chair of his own.

A plastic mask was strapped over Kai Smith's mouth, assisting him with his breathing, the steady beeping coming from the machine next to him connected to his inner elbow by a long, thin wire. Half his face was covered in thick, white bandages, all up both his arms, across his chest and over his stomach. The tips of his hair had been snipped off, the explosion have singed them black.

Wu took this all in from where he stood in the doorway, his brow crinkled in worry. His knees creaked with old age as he made his way into the room, staff lightly tapping against the floor. He reached Cole first, pulling out the black blanket he'd brought with him and throwing it over the Earth Master's curled-up body.

Cole shifted in his sleep, mumbling something about cake, but didn't awaken. Wu place a wrinkled hand on his arm, before moving over to Zane, unravelling the white blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders, adjusting it slightly to it covered his front as well. He didn't even twitch.

The sensei made his way over to Jay and Nya, taking out the dark and light blue blankets he'd brought and tucking it over each other. Jay snuggled closer her, a smile on both their lips.

A smile tugging at his own mouth, Wu made his way to the other side of the bed, pulling out the green blanket and setting it over Lloyd, resting a hand on his blond hair. Now that he got a good look at his nephew, he realized just how exhausted he looked, even in sleep.

Finally, Wu turned to Kai, brow once again creasing in concern as he took in the oxygen mask and bandages. He tugged out the last, bright red blanket and spread it over the plain white one provided by the hospital, giving Kai's non-bandaged hand a squeeze.

"They're more than just your students, aren't they?"

Wu didn't jump, although that didn't mean he hadn't been startled. "I like to think they see me as more than just their sensei."

Misako entered the room fully, two paper cups of tea in her hands. She handed one to Wu, who gave her a grateful smile, before resting her free hand on her son's head, running her fingers through his blond locks.

"I think," she said, making sure to keep her voice quiet, "They see you as a sort of... second-dad. You did take them in, after all."

Wu hummed, sipping at his tea. A lot of his students had some sort of issue with their parents, at least at  _some_  point in time. Jay's usually embarrassed by his, especially around strangers, although it had gotten a lot better over time. Cole's relationship with his father had been the thing holding back his true potential in the first place, and lord knows what happened to his mother. Zane's father died, got resurrected, and then died again, and now he's just discovered that he'd made an exact replica of him and abandoned said exact replica at the lighthouse. Lloyd's dad had been his enemy for a time, his mother had left when he was a baby, and he'd obviously felt abandoned because of it. Kai and Nya don't know if their parents are even dead.

The door burst open, making Misako spill her tea all down her front, five of his students shooting up and Nya accidentally knocking Jay onto the floor. Seven pairs of glaring eyes turned to the intruder, followed by quite a lot of shushing. Kai remained still.

The intruder was a young police officer, a rookie from the looks of it, sweat beading his forehead and his hat askew. He went a few shades paler at their glares.

"What is the meaning of this?" Misako hissed, "This is a hospital!"

"I-I'm s-so sorry," the rookie stuttered, his eyes lingering on the unconscious fire Ninja before shoot back to Misako when their glares intensified, "I-It's just that- well, y-you see-"

"Spit it out already!" snapped Nya.

"We've been sent a video." the rookie blurted, his nervous eyes locking with Zane's. "From Basilisk."


	9. Agony

_Chapter Nine:_

Agony

* * *

They had been reluctant to leave Kai before he even woke up, so Lloyd, Nya and Misako agreed to stay behind. The front of the hospital was overflowing with news reporters, a helicopter circling the tall building in the air, the front doors guarded by two large brutes in black t-shirts.

Zane's jaw clenched in annoyance. He couldn't believe they'd go as far as to block the hospitals front entrance. What if there was an emergency? What if someone needed medical attention but couldn't get inside because of a bunch of obnoxious reporters wanted a juicy story?

News of the fire Ninja being put in hospital had spread faster than they'd thought possible, and that was saying something. It was all over the news, on the tips of every gossipers tongue, the main conversation at the dinner table. Crime rates were expected to increase over the next couple months, but Cole said he was certain they'd quickly be discouraged again.

Since the hospital was practically surrounded, Zane, Cole, Jay, Wu and the rookie- who'd introduced himself as Officer Conner- sneaked out the back and into the cop car.

Zane pulled his white baseball cap low over his face in a subtle attempt to hide his silver skin and glowing eyes, sinking in his seat from where he sat between Jay and Cole, who were doing similar things to avoid detection from the paparazzi just outside. Wu seemed to be napping in the front passenger seat.

However, they were quick to realize that attempting to hide their faces was unnecessary, because the reporters crowded in front of the hospital doors were too focused on trying to get past the two brutes and, hopefully, get a good picture of a certain injured ninja. Or any of the ninja, really.

"You know," Jay said, giving a quiet laugh, "It's kinda ironic, that Kai's been burnt and all. Y'know, 'cause he's the fire nin-"

"Yes, Jay, we're aware." Cole cut him off, sounding slightly annoyed. Jay's small smile fell immediately, and he went uncharacteristically quiet. Officer Conner glanced over his shoulder at them, but said nothing.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Finally, and yet all too soon, the police car came to a stop in front of the downtown police station. As though he hadn't even been resting his eyes, Wu opened the door and got out, ducking to avoid knocking his hat off. Apparently, Zane hadn't been the only one to think he was asleep, for Officer Conner's hand had frozen in midair, having been about to tap the sensei on the shoulder to wake him.

Zane slid out of the car after Jay, closing the door behind him. Officer Conner hesitated, then get out as well, opening his mouth to speak, but the nindroid was already halfway across the parking lot.

Behind him, he heard Wu thank the officer for the ride, and within moments he and his two other pupils were right behind him. Zane hardly glanced at them, pushing open the doors and marching right towards the front desk.

A man sat on a computer, looking terribly bored, head propped up on his fist and hat askew. He looked up at the sound of the doors opening, mouth twisting and brow furrowing in an annoyed scowl. "Look, what ever-"

Zane ignored him, quickly realizing that he would be of little help, and shoved open a door with his shoulder, starting to make his way down the hall.

"Hey!" the man exclaimed.

 _"Zane,"_  said PIXAL, appearing to the side of his vision,  _"You must calm yourself."_

"You saw what they did, PIXAL." he said, ignoring the shouting behind him. "This could be about Echo."

 _"But barging in like this will do you no good."_  PIXAL pointed out,  _"You're going to get in trouble."_

"Zane!"

The nindroid blinked, turning around to see one of the doors open, and a certain smirking 'brown ninja' standing before him.

"Dareth? What are you doing here?" Zane asked. Dareth made his way over to him, slinging an arm over his shoulders and leading him towards the door.

"I arrived a couple minutes ago," he explained, "Heard the Serpentine sent us a video."

"We're not fighting the Serpentine, Dareth." said Zane. He faltered. "Well, at least I don't think they're involved. They call themselves Basilisk."

Dareth, however, didn't appear to be listening. "Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever you say. Are you the only one that came? How's Kai?"

They entered the room, which was lined with computer desks and maned by officers. If Zane recalled correctly, it was the same room that Nya and Jay had pretended to be officers in during the whole Djinn fiasco. Well, not that it actually happened anymore, since it's a different timeline and all.

"Jay, Cole and Sensei Wu are with me." Zane said, as Dareth led him to where Detective Simon, Tommy and the Police Commissioner stood around a computer, whispering loudly to each other. "Kai is... stable."

"That's good." Dareth said, "That's really, really good. Has he woken up yet?"

Zane shook his head. "Lloyd, Nya and Misako stayed behind incase he wakes up while we're away."

Dareth nodded, patting the nindroid on the back, "Don't worry, pal. We'll get the people who did this behind bars."

Before Zane could answer, the door opened again, allowing Officer Conner, Wu, Jay and Cole entry. The three police officers noticed them for the first time, Detective Simon jumping slightly when he spotted Zane and Dareth right next to him.

"Ah, you're here." said the commissioner, white moustache bristling slightly, "Good."

"So what's this about a video?" asked Cole, moving to stand next to Zane, glancing at him before turning back to the police. Zane had a feeling he'd want to have a talk later.

Detective Tommy tapped the commissioner on the shoulder, lowering his voice in a hopeless attempt to make the conversation private. "Uh, sir, are you sure we should show them?"

"Why shouldn't you show us it?" asked Jay, "I mean, you did kinda call us here."

"Well, at least don't show Julian." whispered Simon, although it sounded louder in the otherwise quiet room. Some of the officers stationed at their desks glanced over their computers at them.

"Julian?" echoed Jay, "Who's Julian?"

Zane's electric eyes narrowed. "Are you... talking about me?"

Jay blinked. "You're not called Julian."

"It's his surname, dumbbell." said Cole, "His dad was called Dr. Julian."

"Ohhh." A beat of silence. "Wait, dumbbell?"

"Why shouldn't I see the video?" asked Zane. Tommy and Simon looked at each other, then to the commissioner, who, after a moment, sighed.

"Come on," he said, pulling out a key and making his way over to a side door, "Let's have a bit of privacy."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zane saw quite a few officers snap back to their computers, having most likely been eavesdropping. He shared a look with Jay and Cole, who in turn turned to their sensei, who had a small frown on his wrinkled face. Perhaps it was just Zane, but it appeared he had aged a centaury. Dareth snatched a mug off one of the computer desks, taking a sip of it's contents and grimacing at the taste.

They followed Detectives Tommy and Simon after the commissioner, closing the door behind them. The commissioner flicked on the lights, revealing a mostly empty room, besides a couple chairs and switched off computers. It was more of a spare room than anything else, perhaps an office no one used anymore.

Simon switched on one of the computers, while Tommy blowed off the dust on the screen and keyboards. The commissioner fiddled with something in his jacket pocket, before pulling out a plastic bag. Inside was a small, thin, bright orange USB.

"This is  _disgusting_." muttered Dareth, having still been sipping at the stolen drink. He shook his head, shoving the mug into Zane's hand, "You take it."

The commissioner opened the bag and pulled out the USB, plugging it into the computer. After a moment, the file popped up, and Simon clicked on the only thing there: a video.

It went into full screen automatically, but didn't play. From what could be seen, the shot was of a dimly lit room with someone standing in front of the camera, wearing some sort of mask. Simon looked to the commissioner hesitantly, as though half-expecting him to change his mind. But the police commissioner gave him a firm nod, and Simon reluctantly turned back to the video, clicking the play button.

Now that the play symbol was out of the way, Zane could see the man properly. His face was hidden behind a green snake mask covered in silver markings, crimson lenses over his eyes. He was standing next to something, wriggling and struggling upon a table, but Zane was having difficulty figuring out what it was.

 _"You didn't follow our instructions."_  said the man, voice slightly muffled, picking up what appeared to be a drill,  _"So perhaps this will make you think twice."_

A faint, familiar ticking came from the speakers, and the thing on the table spoke. "W-Wait, what are-"

The mug slipped between Zane's fingers, smashing at his feet in a spray of shards and cold coffee, as the voice of his little brother was cut off, and the room was filled with the whirring of a drill and screaming.

* * *

_There were people at the lighthouse._

_He could hear them as he slowly made his way up the stairs, careful to avoid the boards the creaked. He could hear Gizmo zooming about doing chores, the clatter of eating utensils on plates and bowls, and the smell of freshly cooked food._

_"Okay," one said, swallowing food, as he came to a stop near the top of the stairs, "Here's a crazy one. What if you wished to resurrect the Devourer? Then we sick it on Nadakhan!"_

_There was the sound of crinkling plastic, and something being poured. "Can't do that either," another person said, mouth full, "Can't wish to do harm, can't wish for more wishes, and you can't wish for..." he gave a small laugh, almost sheepishly, "Love."_

_Slowly, Zane peeked his head out, fogged yellow eyes curious, but narrowed in weariness. The second one, who was wearing blue, continued._

_"Which is how I got us into this mess." Gizmo bleeped, spotting Zane on the stairs, and started making his way towards him, "All due to one little glimpse into the future, showing us together..."_

_A sigh, barely caught over Gizmo's hushed beeping. "Our friends gone, our world torn apart... look at us, th-this is all my fault."_

_"Jay..."_

_"I guess we really do end up together." the boy continued, "Just, ha, not as I'd envisioned it."_

_"Stop."_

"I know, I know-"

_Gizmo gave him a sharp bonk on the head, and Zane scowled at him in return, rubbing where he'd been hit. The little bot continued bleeping at him, and Zane glanced back towards the two newcomers, clockwork heart leaping into his throat when he realized they were looking in his direction._

_He dashed down the stairs just as they leaped from their seats, the girl shouting something he couldn't decipher. Zane didn't bother to be quiet, for his rapidly ticking heart would have given him away anyhow, rusted feet slamming against the steps._

_Two pairs of feet started pounding after him, and Zane had just enough time to flip the latch and slip into the basement, ignoring the screws that had come undone and clattered on the floor._

_The walls slammed together behind him, and he slid down the walkway, head snapping left and right. Eyes landing on the bookcase (which was filled mostly with gears and other parts), he leaped behind it._

_Only a few moments later, he heard the doorway open again, followed by the whir of Gizmo's wheels and two pairs of feet. "Looks like a bunch of stuff from Zane's fathers old lab."_

_Covering a hand over his ticking heart, Zane edged further into his little hiding space- and accidentally knocked over a small stack of boxes, sending screws and old tools clattering loudly onto the floor._

_One of the newcomers gave a startled yelp, jumping behind the other, "You're right! We're not alone!"_

"-Help him, you son of a bitch! Just-"

 _He heard Gizmo come closer, as well as the newcomers backing away. "I thought_ you _were supposed to be protecting_ me? _"_

_"I thought you were over that!"_

_Gizmo came up beside him, holding up one of the screws that had fallen off. Zane gave him a grateful smile, taking the screw, although the smile quickly fell when one of the newcomers spoke._

_"Whoever you are, come out!"_

_Zane's heart ticked loudly, and he took a shaky breath. They hadn't hurt Gizmo, so why would they hurt him?_

_He stuck his head out. "I am Zane. Built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."_

_Zane stepped out from behind the shelf, blinking in response to the newcomers shocked expressions. A small, disbelieving smile spread across the blue one's lips._

_"Zane?"_

_He cocked his head to the side, wondering how he knew his name. The blue one turned to the girl, realization dawning on his face._

_"When Zane's father was trapped here, he must have built a replacement Zane!"_

_"Great." groaned the girl, "Another knight in rusted armour."_

"-Will you stop  _shouting_ , boy- ?!"

_"Rusted, maybe." said blue, "But can he still protect?"_

_At that, Zane kicked out, spinning around- only to trip over his own feet and fall flat on his back. The two newcomers winced, stepping closer._

_"Built to protect what?" asked the girl, "Himself?"_

_Gizmo beeped, another screw in hand, waving a clawed hand at the two. The blue one shrugged._

_"Who knows? But if the two of us can't figure out my wish," they both looked down at Zane, who still lay on the floor. "Maybe a new perspective might help."_

* * *

Screaming. Begging. Sobbing. It all echoed through his head, like a broken record on repeat, tearing at his power source like razor sharp claws. His hands trembled, shiny fingers almost like ten blurs, shoulders shaking and electric blue eyes shiny with tears.

He was sitting out in the hall, back pressed against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and head buried in his arms. His breathing came out in ragged gasps, tear tracks staining titanium cheeks, throat tight with held back sobs.

The video was twenty minutes long. He'd ran out after five minutes.

_They tortured his Echo._

PIXAL had tried multiple times to comfort him, but soon fell silent when she obtained no response. But she didn't disappear, instead staying on his screen, in an attempt to let him know he's not alone.

Zane appreciated the gesture.

If only Echo had someone with him too.

Footsteps. Zane forced himself to remain quiet, although he didn't raise his head. They came to a stop in front of him, and for a long moment, neither of them did anything. Then someone sat next to him, arm brushing against his own. They were too chubby to be one of his siblings, or even an officer, and Zane finally forced himself to peek out from his arms to see who it was.

To his surprise, it was Dareth. His usual smirk was gone, his shoulders oddly slumped, face uncharacteristically glum. He wasn't looking at Zane, just staring at the wall across from them, not saying anything. Zane rested his chin on his arms, wiping at his nose with his sleeve, starting to stare at the wall as well.

Silence. Distantly, he could hear officers bustling about, but none came close to their hallway. He wondered where the others were.

"I'm sorry."

The sudden apology startled him, and Zane blinked, turning to Dareth with a confused frown. The man was still staring at the wall. "For what?"

Dareth shrugged, finally turning to look at the nindroid, lips twitching in a sad smile, "For, ah, for frightening the little dude. When we first met."

Zane blinked at him slowly, looking down at his knees. "I don't believe he's one to hold grudges."

"Yeah, but..." Dareth shrugged, "Nevermind. Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine." the nindroid said, glaring at the floor, more tears springing to his eyes. Dareth was silent.

He was fine.

_Echo wasn't._

"Zane! There you are!"

The titanium droid looked up at the shout, just in time to be tackled by a blue blur. The force almost knocked him right into Dareth, who was able to scramble away just in time, and a pair of arms wrapped around his torso and squeezed.

"I'm sorry." Jay blurted, face mostly buried in Zane's shoulder, who was startled to find that part of his white hoodie starting to dampen, "I'm so, so,  _so_  sorry, Zane, this is all my fault-"

"Jay." said Zane, voice quiet, arms snaking around his brother to return the hug, although not as tight, "I do not blame you."

"But it's my fault Echo got captured." Jay groaned, " _I'm_  the one that lost him! And now he's been taken captive and tortured and god, Zane, he could be  _dead_ -"

"You're right." Zane cut him off, pulling Jay away to look him in the face, hands on his shoulders, both their cheeks stained with tears, "You're right, you are the one that lost Echo. He could be dead. But it was Basilisk that took him." he reached down, grasping Jay's hand in his own, "And it is Basilisk who shall pay."

Jay looked down, unconvinced. He sniffed, wiping away his tears with his free hand. "I'm still sorry."

"Maybe." Zane sighed, "But we'll make sure they're sorry too."

The blue ninja sniffed again, sending him a watery smile that Zane was quick to return. Behind them, Dareth awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, ah, what're we gonna do about it, then?" he asked, "I mean, no way we're just going to sit around moping, am I right?"

"You know what, Dareth?" said Zane, standing, pulling Jay up with him, "You're right. Where are the others?"

"Sensei Wu was talking to the commissioner." Jay explained, wiping the last of his tears away, "Cole and I split up to look for you."

"Let's get back to the hospital," Zane said, starting to lead the way down the hall, "Call Seamus, too."

* * *

_They were gone._

_The one in blue had seemingly vanished. The girl had been taken down fighting, and she kicked and clawed and yelled even as she was dragged away. He, however, was left, useless, a pile of junk, on the stairs, desperately yelling for them to leave her alone. A pirate gave him a harsh kick to the forehead as he passed._

_He dragged himself up the rest of the stairs, painfully slowly, Gizmo bringing up his fallen parts one by one so he could repair him, an invisible stone tangled in his circuits._

_Echo-Zane pulled himself up onto the table, Gizmo hopping up onto a chair to be level with him, pulling out various different tools. He'd repaired the rusty droid enough to have no need for blueprints anymore._

_He laid still for at least an hour, probably more, shifting ony slightly ever now and then, allowing the smaller bot to do his work. After what seemed to be an age, Gizmo pulled back, and Echo-Zane slowly clambered off the table, flexing and twisting to make sure everything was in working order._

_There was a quiet creak, and his head snapped towards the window, fogged yellow eyes widening when they met with the blue newcomer's, who smiled at him, gestured for him to follow._

_Breaking into a faceplate splitting grin, Echo-Zane saluted, the stone that had been stuck in his circuits for the past couple hours magically vanishing._

_He came back._

"- Echo!"

He gasped, eyes snapping open, pain vibrating through his entire body and momentarily blinding him. He choked, trying to breathe, gasping and panting, heart ticking, and dear god it  _hurt._

Hands, trembling, scrambling and tugging away snapped wires and shattered gears, flicking a broken switch. The pain ebbed away, slowly, until it was a dull agony that settled in his exoskeleton. The ticking remained.

A groan vibrated from his throat, one he immediately regretted as a terrible stab of pain erupted just above his left eye, tearing through his chest and up his throat. If he'd had the ability to, he was certain he would have thrown up by now.

Something was shoved to his lips, and a thick, cool liquid was poured down his throat. He drank greedily, the familiar taste of oil on his tongue, but the cup was taken away before he could have his fill.

A whimper passed his lips, and he forced his eyes to open, every breath he took sending pain up his entire body.

"Easy." said Kaze, kneeling next to him. At the back of his mind, Echo realized that he looked worse than usual. He was paler, the bags under his eyes more pronounced, as though he'd been recently sick. He was shaking, although relief danced in his tiered eyes. "It's okay."

The urge to cry built up at the back of Echo's throat, but he held it back, knowing that it would only make the pan worse. An odd noise escaped his throat, a mix between a whimper, a groan and a suppressed sob, sending a jolt of agony up his body.

"I-I-I," Echo gasped, oil that had spilled from his mouth trailing down his chin and cheeks, some reaching his ears.  _Everything hurt_. "I-I wa-wan' 'a-ane."

"What?" asked Kaze, leaning closer, "What did you say?"

A sob shook Echo's body, quickly followed by a pained cry as agony flared, "Z-Z-uhne!"

"Hey, uh, i-it's okay." Kaze stuttered, his hands hesitantly hovering over the broken droid, "I, oh god, uh..."

"Wow. So it is true."

The ghost, the one from before, appeared on the edge of Echo's vision. His face was one of surprise, hands clasped behind his back, looking from the broken droid to the kneeling man next to him.

"What do you want, Clouse?" Kaze snapped, his glare boring holes into the ghost's head, "Here to mock us again?"

Clouse laughed. "No, no, I just came to see if the rumours were true. You really did repair him."

Kaze's jaw clenched, his glare hardening. "I did what I could. No thanks to you."

Another sob shook Echo's body, and he cried out again, clenching his eyes shut. "'A-'Ane!"

"Is he... crying?"

"Of course he's crying!" Kaze snapped, "You tore him a-fucking-part! Look at him! He's barely functioning!"

For a long moment, there was silence, broken only by Echo's ragged breaths, ticking heart and quiet whimpers. A comforting hand rested on his forehead.

"I'm surprised you care about him."

"That's none of your business."

"Maybe not." a pause. "It's like a child."

" _He_." Kaze corrected sharply, "And he is."

Silence again. Echo let out a quiet cry.

Sighing. "Here. Perhaps it will make it feel better."

"What is it?"

"Something that could possible help. Now are you going to take it or not?"

"You don't."

A pause. Kaze took something.

"Why are you helping?"

"Certainly not for you. Although, I suppose it's nice to spite your leader every now and again." Footsteps, moving away. A heavy door opened, and then closed, quickly followed by the quiet click of a lock.

Kaze broke the silence. "I hate that guy."

Echo forced his eyes open, cracking a small smile. Through blurry vision, he saw Kaze kneeling next to him, frowning at a vial in his hands. Then he looked at Echo, hesitantly, who grimaced as another jolt of agony rippled through him.

Kaze sighed. "Okay." He reached out, fingers curling around the vial's cork, and for a moment, he just stared at it, face uncertain. Then he twisted it, popping it open. Purple steam floated out the top.

He looked down at Echo, then at the vial. He took a deep breath. "Okay. I guess we're doing this."

Slowly, gently, he lifted Echo's head, who whimpered as pain shot up his neck. Muttering an apology, Kaze lifted the vial to Echo's lips, but not close enough for him to drink.

"Are you... sure you should drink this?" asked Kaze. Echo looked from the vial to Kaze, taking a deep, ragged breath, wincing as his chest spiked.

"I trus' you." he muttered, ticking quieting ever so slightly. Kaze's eyes widened, mouth opening. After a second, he snapped it shut, looking down at the vial hesitantly.

"Alright." he was starting to shake again, "Alright."

The vial was placed to Echo's lips. Kaze locked eyes with Echo, biting his lip, and then poured the contents down the broken droid's throat.

It was cool, and tasted like milk. Within moments, the vial was emptied, and Kaze sat it aside. A tense silence descended upon the room.

"How... do you feel?" Kaze asked. Echo gave a small cough, wincing.

"I-I think I'm o-" his eyes rolled into the back of his head, body slumping, and the last thing he saw was Kaze's eyes widening in horror.

The ticking went silent.


	10. Open

_Chapter Ten:_

Open

* * *

Admittedly, it was slightly harder getting _into_  the hospital than it had been getting out of it. While slightly better than this morning, reporters were still everywhere but were thankfully no longer crowded around the doors, and the helicopter was gone.

The back door they'd come out of, however, turned out to be locked.

But they weren't called Ninja for nothing. Misako's face was almost comically blank when she spotted two boys, a nindroid and an old man outside the fourth floor hall window.

"So," she said after she'd unlatched said window, cradling a foam cup of coffee as they clambered through one by one, "How did it go?"

Wu glanced at Zane, who's face was a mask of normality. Had it not been for the faint tracks on his cheeks and the way his hand twitched and clenched as though he were impatient, it could have possibly fooled even Wu himself.

Sighing, he turned back to Misako. "Not very well."

"We'll explain in a moment," said Cole quietly, glancing about the hall. A trio of doctors was watching them curiously from by the snack machines.

Misako's brow furrowed in concern, but she got the hint and nodded, starting to lead the way back to Kai's hospital room. Cole looked back at the doctors, who were now outright staring, and sent them a glare. They blushed bright red and quickly turned away.

Jay opened the door for them, looking up and down the hall as though to make sure no one was there to eavesdrop, before entering the room himself and closing the door behind him. He turned the handle, and it locked with a tiny  _click_.

Lloyd and Nya sat by Kai's bed, who was still unconscious, although there was comfort in the steady rise and fall of his chest. Nya was curled up on her chair with a book, and while Lloyd had his old DS with him, he had yet to turn it on.

"Hi, guys." Nya said, giving them a smile that seemed slightly forced. Purple bags were starting to form under her eyes. "How'd it go?"

Zane shook his head, taking a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs and crossing his arms. Immediately, Nya, Lloyd and Misako straightened, looked at each other, and then turned to the others for an explanation.

Cole sighed, rubbing at his face with his palm. "They, uh, sent us a video."

"A video?" echoed Lloyd, brow furrowed, "About what?"

"A warning." said Wu. He glanced around at Misako and his pupils with tired, sunken eyes. "They tortured Echo-Zane."

The bluntness of the statement hit them right in the gut, even those who were already aware of it, leaving them winded and horrified. Zane clenched his eyes shut, turning his head away from his sensei as though attempting to shield himself from a gust of wind.

"They- They did what?" Lloyd gasped. Nya shook her head, looking from Wu to Cole to Zane and then to Jay.

"How... how long was it?" asked Misako. There was a beat of silence before Zane answered in a choked voice, not raising his head.

"Twenty minutes and forty-two seconds."

Misako's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she sat down on the edge of Kai's hospital bed. "Twenty minutes." she repeated.

Wu sighed grimly. "Twenty minutes."

There was a short moment of silence. Then Jay opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was a loud, persistent knock on the door.

Blinking, eyes narrowing in slight suspicion, Cole inched his way towards the door, hand hovering over the hidden knife strapped to his hip. His suspicion and unease must have been contagious, for the rest of them- well, except for a certain unconscious fire ninja- tensed as though in preparation for a fight. Zane's hand slipped into his hoodie pocket, clutching the dual shurikans inside.

There was another knock on the door, louder this time, almost impatient. Cole made eye contact with Jay, then Wu. When neither offered any advice, he turned back to the door, fingers curling around the hidden knife, and grasped the doorhandle with his free hand, flicking the lock open with his thumb.

Cole opened the door a crack, peeking through to see who was on the other side. A second later, he opened it fully, allowing entry to Seamus and Dareth. Immediately, the rooms occupants relaxed, and Zane removed his hand from his hoodie pocket.

"Dareth," said Misako, seeming slightly surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"Zane said to meet you's here." Seamus explained before Dareth could answer, offering his hand to the women in greeting, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Misako." he faltered, "Or are you still going by, ah, 'Mrs'?"

Misako's smile dropped, then returned, except this time it was a sad smile, with grief written in her eyes. Lloyd turned to watch Kai's chest rise and fall, mouth twisting downwards. "I still go by Mrs, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr Dewer."

"Please," Seamus smiled, "Call me Seamus."

Zane adverted his attention away from the two, only to realise that Dareth was staring at Kai. There was an odd expression on his face, one that he couldn't quite place. Dareth must have felt his gaze, for he turned to look at him, gave him a small smile, and then turned to Wu, although not without one last glance at the bedridden Ninja.

"So," said Dareth, placing his hands on his hips, "What we here for?"

"Seamus," Zane said, speaking up for the fist time. Some of the others jumped, as though they'd forgotten he was there. "Is there anything you can tell us about where Basilisk kept you prisoner? Anything at all?"

Seamus frowned thoughtfully, thumbing his bottom lip. "Well... the place was always... cave-like.  _Everything_. It was hard to tell whether or not it was natural or done by human-hand. Water would drip from the walls as well. At times, drinking it was the only thing that kept us alive."

"Is it possible that the caves were underground? Beneath a large body of water, perhaps?" Misako suggested. Seamus' frown deepened.

"It's... hard to say. When Kaze, my family and I escaped into the labyrinth, it was dark. At times, it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand no matter how close it was to your eye. We eventually tried to find our way back to the factory, but we just got more lost..." Seamus shook his head, sliding into one of the unoccupied seats. His hand clenched in his lap, mind plagued with haunting memories. "But it was wet there too. We kept stepping into puddles. Some were knee deep. I had to carry my daughter at times, it was that deep."

"An entire labyrinth," muttered Nya, "It must be underground. Someone is sure to notice a hideout that big, right?"

"Maybe it's in Hiroshi's Labyrinth?" Cole suggested, "Or underneath it?" Lloyd shook his head.

"Hiroshi's Labyrinth was a confusing mass of jungle. Even if the Basilisk's hideout is underneath one of it's lakes or rivers, there's no way it would be that wet."

Jay groaned, pressing his back against the wall and sliding to the floor. "This is giving me a headache."

Nya sent him a look, but before anything could be said, music abruptly filled the room. The Ninja jumped, heads snapping to Wu, who was in the motion of pulling out an outdated cell phone.

"Hello?" the sensei said. His brow furrowed. "We'll be there immediately." Almost as soon as it had appeared, the phone was gone, returned to Sensei Wu's hidden pockets.

Lloyd blinked. "What was that?"

"I had given the Commissioner my number," said Wu simply, "So he may contact us if anything about Basilisk comes up."

Zane straightened. "And?"

"They have a women in their custody," Sensei Wu said. He was already making his way to the door. "She says she's from Basilisk."

* * *

Basilisk sending them a video was one thing, but someone  _from_  Basilisk being captured was something entirely different. Despite this, both Lloyd and Nya were hesitant to leave Kai's side, but Misako promised that she'd keep an eye on him.

It was with that the Ninja, Seamus, Sensei Wu and Dareth made their way back to the police station. There was no police car to drive them there this time, but this was not unexpected, and they made do with pulling their hoods over their hair and their caps over their eyes. They avoided main roads, darting in and out of alleys, and within a surprising amount of time, Zane was throwing open the doors and leading the way inside.

The officer sitting at the reception desk's head snapped up at their entry, and he groaned, putting his face in his hands. Zane briefly felt bad for him, but then he pushed the feeling away and marched down the hall towards where they'd met the Commissioner and the two Detectives earlier that day.

"Zane!" called Cole. A hand wrapped around the nindroid's arm, stopping him in place. He turned, electric eyes flashing in annoyance.

"What is it, Cole?"

A frown was on Cole's face. The Earth Ninja looked over his shoulder at the others, who were watching them in either confusion, startlement or concern. Cole gestured with his head to further down the hall. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up with you."

Lloyd, Nya, Jay and Dareth shared startled looks. Wu simply raised his eyebrows, looking between the nindroid and the mountain climber. Then he nodded, motioning of the others to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, they did, although not without a few more glanced at the two.

Once they were out of sight, Zane turned to face Cole, his face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "Cole, why-"

Cole held up his hand, and Zane fell silent. It had been awhile since Cole had taken on any form of leader, which had been an unofficial thing in the first place. Over the years, the role of leader had varied, mostly depending on the situation, but if any of the Ninja were to be asked who the leader was, they'd most likely say Sensei Wu.

"This needs to stop." said Cole. Zane blinked at him slowly.

"What needs to stop?"

"You know fine well what!" Cole snapped. Eyes widening, Zane took a startled step backwards. Taking a deep breath, Cole closed his eyes, as though regaining his composure.

"This needs to stop." he repeated, calmer this time. Weakly, he gestured to the nindroid. "Running ahead of us like that. Being so, so..." he shook his head, trying to find the right word, "So  _stoic_."

Zane frowned, not sure how to answer. Cole stared at him for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head again. He walked over to the wall, pressing his back against the cool surface and sliding to the floor. Looking up at his titanium brother, he patted the spot next to him in form of invitation.

The nindroid did so, sitting cross legged next to the mountain climber. Cole leaned his head back against the wall, staring at the door across from them. There was a long moment of silence.

"It's like..." Cole finally said, not tearing his eyes from the door, "Like how you used to be. Before you found out about your past. Before you... opened up."

Zane's eyes widened. He did not want to return to who he had been when he'd first met his newfound family. That Zane was lost, that Zane wore masks, and while he would not forget that Zane, he did not want to be him again.

The sensation of a hand curling around his own startled him, but when he looked down he found no other hand but his own. Then he realised PIXAL's face had once again appeared on his screen. He smiled and curled his hand in the illusion of holding hers.

He turned back to Cole, who he abruptly realised was watching him. Zane's smile fell, and he turned his eyes to his lap. "I... I'm sorry."

"I know things are hard." said Cole softly, "I'm worried about Echo too. But Zane..." a hand was placed on his shoulder, and Zane turned, his electric blue eyes locking with Cole's black ones, "Don't lock us out.  _Please_."

Slowly, Zane's eyes drifted downwards. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, choked, as though holding back the urge to cry. "Okay."

The hand on his shoulder squeezed, and then two arms were wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug that Zane was quick to return. They sat there for a moment, buried in each others arms, allowing themselves for just a moment to forget everything that was happening around them.

* * *

Carrot watched them from the doorway.

He had only caught the last part of the conversation, which was now copied on his tape-recorder. He doubted that it would be of much use, but you never know.

His comm., disguised to look like a part of his ear, buzzed in a sudden burst of static. Carrot slid back into the room, the door closing behind him, his eyes gazing over the officers scattered about, landing on the Ninja talking with the Commissioner in front of the two way glass. He reached up in the motion of scratching his ear, in reality adjusting his comm. to hear the speaker on the other side more clearly.

_"We're moving in."_

Inside, he smiled. Outside, he glared at the women on the other side of the glass. On this rare occasion, neither were fake.

* * *

His head throbbed, as though someone had pounded on the inside of his skull with a hammer. His limbs were heavy and tingled with numbness, but the agonizing pain that he had experienced previously had been reduced greatly.

Echo opened his heavy, crusted eyes, staring up at the rocky ceiling that he had become accustomed to. He was not sure how long he lay there, simply taking in careful lungfuls of air, before he heard someone shifting somewhere off

to his right.

Slowly, Echo turned his head in the direction of the noise, his fogged yellow eyes meeting emerald green. They widened, then Kaze shot up and scrambled over to him, his mouth opening and closing in shock.

"E-Echo?"

His mouth, it turned out, was just as heavy and numb as his arms and legs. His tongue was lead in his mouth, fumbling against his teeth as he struggled to produce an understandable sentence. "Y-Ye-eh?"

Kaze's face broke out into a massive grin. "You're alive!"

Echo tried to smile back, but wasn't sure if he did it right or not. Kaze's eyes appeared oddly shiny, although it was hard to tell in the darkness of the cell.

"H-Huw did y-you g-gut in 'ere?" Echo asked. Kaze looked towards the little barred window that had separated their cells, then back to the nindroid.

"They put you in with me." he said. Echo cocked his head to the side.

"Why?"

Kaze shrugged. "Dunno." He shifted, glancing around the cell, before returning his eyes to Echo. "Think you can sit up?"

Echo's brow furrowed and, after a moment of consideration, he nodded. Kaze repeated the nod, then snaked his arms around Echo's body, clumsily helping him sit up.

The nindroid's head spun, but it quickly passed. He tightened his grip on Kaze's shoulders, forcing himself to his feet.

"Wow!" Kaze gasped, grabbing Echo by the hips to stop him from falling over, "Slow down!"

Echo swayed, using Kaze for support. Again, his head spun, and he had to wait a little longer than before for it to pass. In that time, Kaze struggled to his own feet, still helping to hold Echo up.

"I don't think you should be getting up this fast." Kaze said. Echo shook his head, bringing a hand up to rub at his dirt face. He jumped, for his face was not the same, but instead twisted in the wrong places, as though covered in ugly, jagged scars.

He looked at Kaze, heart ticking loudly in panic, who's eyes widened. "Hey, it's-it's okay! We can- We can get you fixed up proper, just... just not right now."

Shakily, Echo swallowed, slightly glad that there were no reflective surfaces in the cell. He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady his trembling legs. "C-Could you help walk?"

Kaze blinked. "Where to?"

"Just... a-around the cell."

Again, Kaze blinked, but then he nodded. Wrapping Echo's arm around his shoulder, Kaze began leading a slow, awkward limp around the cell, his own legs trembling from the weight of holding up Echo and walking semi-properly for the first time in ages.

"So," Kaze panted, as they passed the door and began the circle again, "What does Soren want with you? Why did he... you know?"

Echo shook his head, struggling to even stand upright, "I... I don't know. Maybe-" he cut himself off with a startled gasp, stumbling over a small rock as they reached the door again.

Kaze yelped as he was brought down with him, hand lashing out blindly in search of something to grab on to. It latched onto something cold and metal, which twisted downwards with their bodies as they went crashing to the floor. The wall shifted, the edge smacking into Kaze's calf.

A low hiss of pain came from Kaze's clenched teeth, Echo groaning beside him. The nindroid lay there for a moment, blinking at the ceiling, severely regretting insisting on walking around the room. "S-Sorry, Kaze."

He expected a snort or a huff, and was surprised when he received neither. Frowning, he struggled to push himself up with his arms, "Kaze?"

Kaze was staring at his hand, mouth wide open and forming a near perfect 'o.' Echo followed his gaze. His heart skipped a beat.

The door handle was twisted downwards, Kaze's hand still curled around it's cool surface. It was not the wall that had shifted.

The door stood open before them.


	11. Blackout

_Chapter Eleven:_

Blackout

* * *

Kaze tentatively stuck his head through the open doorway, his long hair falling into his face. Echo couldn't see outside from where he knelt, heart ticking in his ears, as Kaze's head turned left and right. Taking in the hall beyond.

Slowly, he pulled his head back into the cell, eyes the size of dinner plates. "It's clear." he muttered, more to himself than Echo, "No one's there."

"H-How's the door opened?" Echo whispered, even though he told himself that there was no need to. He fidgeted, wincing as he sat down on the rocky floor, legs tingling slightly from his previous position. "Has it always been open?"

Kaze shook his head, staring at the open doorway. "It... it couldn't have been... could it?"

Echo glanced around the barren cell. Water dripped from the ceiling, trailing down the uneven walls, forming tiny little puddles on the floor. There were no windows, no way to tell if it were night or day. The barred one that separated this cell from its neighbour- the one he'd been in previously- was rusty and wet. It was dark, too. So dark that he had to squint to make out Kaze's face. The only light came from the open doorway.

The nindroid swallowed. He turned back to Kaze, who's eyes were to the floor. In the light from the corridor, he looked even paler than before. Like a ghost. "What do we do?"

This seemed to snap the other out of his trance. Kaze shook his head, looking from Echo to the open door. His face was a look of struggle, as though he were mentally berating himself on what to do. His eyes locked with Echo's, uncertain.

Then, slowly, .he shook his head and sighed. Climbing onto shaky legs, Kaze reached out, helping Echo to his feet and wrapping the bots metallic arm around his shoulders.

Echo winced, biting back a hiss of pain. He forced himself not to put all of his weight on Kaze. He was weak too, and had been here for far longer than Echo had, with only the water on the walls to keep his alive.

Kaze didn't look at him. Stared at the open door. Closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

Weak, limping, unable to stand up straight, they left the cell behind and made their way into the twists and turns of the labyrinth.

* * *

Cole closed the door behind him. He turned to Zane, who was looking around the room, bustling with officers. The nindroid must have felt his gaze, for he turned to him. Cole smiled. After a second, Zane smiled back.

They walked over to where the others were, in front of the two-way mirror. For the first time, Cole got a good look at the women on the other side, sitting at the interrogation table.

She was... well, she was pretty, he'd give her that. She was small too, smaller than even Echo, he'd imagine. Her pale skin was vibrant against the black and grey design of the room, and her hair was such a light blond that it almost matched her skin tone. Her long fingers tapped against the tabletop in an unconscious, random rhythm. At first glance, she appeared to be spaced out. But the longer Cole looked, he realised that she was actually taking in her surroundings. She wore rags, worn and faded, wrapped around her body solely for concealment rather than warmth. Her eyes were a startling violet.

"Oh, there you two are."

Cole turned away from the two-way mirror, plastering a smile on his face when he came face to face with the Commissioner. The man brushed his white moustache, sending a glare in the captured women's direction. "Now we can begin."

"Who is she?" Zane asked. The Commissioner shrugged.

"Hell if I know. Say's her name's Violet." he fixed his hat, bushy brow furrowing, "We can't find anything of her. No records, won't give us a surname. She said she doesn't have one."

"Do you think she's lying?" asked Nya. The Commissioner scoffed.

"Of course she is! Who doesn't have a surname?"

"Morro."

Startled, they turned to Lloyd, the one who'd spoken. Sensing their eyes, he blinked, seemingly startled that he'd spoken aloud. Jay frowned at him, his eyes briefly flashing in concern.

"What about Morro?"

Lloyd shook his head, sending them a sheepish sort of smile, rubbing the back of his head. "I, uh, Morro didn't have a surname, I mean. You know, 'cause he... 'cause he grew up on the streets."

The Commissioner gave a thoughtful hum. "That's a good point, I suppose. Another thing to consider." he looked back at Violet, who was watching the two-way mirror. Perhaps it was just Cole, but he felt as though she were staring right at them. "But without proof."

"Can we go talk to her?" Zane asked. The Commissioner turned to him, hesitant. After a moment, he nodded, slowly.

"Alright. I've already sent Simon and Tommy in to talk to her, but she won't say anything useful. Maybe you'll have more luck."

Cole gave the Commissioner a nod, before turning to Lloyd. The Green Ninja stared at the pale women for a long moment, before nodding as well, although it was more to himself than the Commissioner.

"Let's go in."

* * *

Ronin watched from the other side of the two-way glass as the Ninja approached the women. His eyes were narrowed, and he'd scarcely looked away since arriving. There was something about her, something tugging at the back of his mind. He wasn't sure what it was, but it made him uneasy.

This woman could not be trusted. If only he could remember  _why_.

Lloyd sat down in the only other chair in the interrogation room, right across from the women. The others hovered behind him, arms crossed and faces hard. They looked, Ronin thought, a little bit like bodyguards.

No. Older siblings.

"Who are you?" Lloyd asked, his voice coming out in a small burst of static from the speaker. One of the detectives adjusted it.

The women actually seemed a little disappointed. She'd probably been asked this question multiple times by now.

"I told you," she said, "I'm Violet. And you are?"

Ronin straightened. He wasn't sure why, but her voice sent shivers wracking his spine. He didn't like this.

Something was wrong.

For a moment, Lloyd appeared to consider ignoring the question. Then he decided against it. "Lloyd. We heard you're with Basilisk."

Violet smiled. "You heard true."

"I don't like this," Ronin muttered. Dareth turned to him, startled.

"What?"

"I don't like this." the mercenary repeated. "Something's... not right."

The self-proclaimed Brown Ninja frowned, glancing around the room in a new found paranoia. He leant closer to Ronin, lowering his voice. "You sure? What's wrong?"

Ronin shook his head, slowly. "I'm not sure. Just... keep your eyes peeled."

Dareth stared at him for a moment, before nodding, turning back to the two-way mirror. While Ronin didn't exactly think highly of Dareth, he had to admit that the man wasn't  _entirely_ stupid.

He wasn't planning on saying it aloud anytime soon, though.

"Your... group." said Lloyd, "They took a friend of ours."

"I know."

Silence descended upon the room. Lloyd looked around at his friends, although it was as though he were searching for someone specific. He must have realised they weren't there, for his eyes briefly flashed with something Ronin couldn't place, before he turned to Cole.

The Earth Ninja frowned, seeming as lost for a response as Lloyd was. Zane was, unsurprisingly, the one to speak.

"Why?"

Violet stared at him for a moment. Then she smiled. "They thought he was you."

Zane's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. His spine went ramrod straight, and he became as still as the statue of him in the park. He stared at Violet with a look that sent shivers running up Ronin's spine. One of the detectives turned to the Commissioner.

"Sir? Should we bring the nindroid back in?"

The Commissioner looked between Zane and Violet, obviously- at least to Ronin- unsure. "Let's see where this goes."

Finally, after a long period of tense silence, Cole stepped forwards and stood in front of Zane, as though shielding him. He put his hand behind his back and linked his fingers with the nindroid's, squeezing his hand. Ronin wasn't sure if it was in comfort or in warning.

"Why is Basilisk after Zane?"

"They weren't after him specifically," said Violet, as though commenting on the weather. She swung back on her chair, balancing on the back legs. For the first time, Ronin noticed that her hands were handcuffed in her lap. "They would've taken any of you. More than one, if they could."

"Tommy," said the Commissioner, his eyes glued to the scene before him, "Are you getting this?"

One of the detectives- Tommy- was typing away rapidly at a computer. Upon closer inspection, it appeared he was taking notes. "Yes, sir."

"But why?" asked Nya. Violet shrugged, not speaking. Nya's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching in annoyance.

"Who is Basilisk?" Lloyd asked, "What is it that they want with us?"

The front legs of Violet's chair slammed back to the floor. She leant forwards, putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on both fists, her wrists linked together. She regarded them curiously, a taunting smirk dancing on her lips. Almost unconsciously, Ronin's hand strayed towards the gun strapped to his hip.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones," Violet whispered, her voice so low that Ronin had to lean closer to the speaker to hear her properly, "But I'll never tell a secret."

The lights went out.

* * *

Nelson lay in his bed, a comic book open on his pillow. His newly mended legs swung in the air, and the hood of the purple gi that the Green Ninja had given him was wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

Outside his window, the sun was setting over the towering buildings of New Ninjago City. His bedroom walls were littered with posters, mostly of the Ninja, and the rest of his purple gi were hanging on his door's hook. Toys and colouring pencils were scattered across the floor, and his purple laptop sat open on his chest of drawers, it's screen blaring a news clip of when Echo-Zane had first been seen.

"Nelson!"

The young boy jumped, quickly shoving his comic book under his pillow. He sat up and turned around so that he faced the maths homework at the end of his bed, grabbing his pencil as soon as the bedroom door opened.

His mum stood in the doorway, her eyebrows raised. Nelson schooled his expression into a natural look.

"Yes, mum?"

"Shouldn't you have finished your homework by now?" she asked, leaning against the door. Nelson shrugged.

"I'm almost done."

His mum hummed, glancing around the room. After a long moment, she turned back to Nelson. "Alright, then. Dinner's almost ready, so remember to wash up once you're done."

That said, she left, leaving the door wide open. Nelson waited for a few moments, before climbing off his bed to shut the door himself. Once it was closed, he let out a breath of relief, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

He was going to make an  _awesome_ Ninja.

Nelson returned to his bed, taking his laptop with him and just googling the answers to his homework, which he had long since been forbidden to do. Finished within moments, Nelson closed his laptop and sat it on the floor, cheerfully shoving his maths homework off his bed.

Jumping off his bed, Nelson made his way into the hall, heading towards the bathroom. He lived in an apartment complex on the seventh floor, and there wasn't an upstairs. The front door led directly into the living room, and a hallway branched off from it, which was where the three bedrooms and the bathroom were. Through an archway behind the couch in the living room was the kitchen, which had the dinner table in the centre.

After doing his business in the toilet, Nelson turned to the sink, stepping up onto his stool and twisting the handle, squirting a glob of soap onto his hands. He must have been halfway through scrubbing his hands clean when all the lights went out.

Nelson was almost certain that his heart stopped. In the kitchen, his mum gave a startled yell. For a long moment, Nelson just stood there, staring into his own wide eyes in the mirror, warm water still gushing over his hands.

"Muuum?" he called.

"It's alright, Nelson," said his mum, her footsteps loud against the abrupt silence of the house, "It's just a power cut. Come and sit in the living room."

Swallowing, Nelson hurriedly switched off the tap and practically ran towards the door, leaving it wide open as he sprinted down the hall. He slowed down to a jog as he came to the living room, his panic reducing slightly now that he was out of the bathroom and closer to his mum, who was kneeling in front of an open panel in the wall, fiddling with the switches in an attempt to reconnect the power.

"Why'd the power cut?" Nelson asked, climbing up onto the couch and pulling a blanket around his shoulders. His mum leant away from the panel, a frown gracing her forehead.

"I'm not sure." she looked to the front door, then back to Nelson, "I'm going to go see if the whole building's out. You'll be okay here, right?"

"Of course I'll be okay!" said Nelson, puffing out his chest. "I'm the  _Purple Ninja_!"

His mum smiled, walking over to the couch, "Well, the Purple Ninja better have done all his homework." She leant down and kissed his forehead, before taking her keys off their hook and opening the door. There was no light in the hall.

"I'm going to go make sure Miss Baker is alright. If something's wrong, go over to Mx Quinn's, okay?"

Nelson nodded, and his mum closed the door behind her. Almost immediately, Nelson's bravery vanished like water down a drain. Looking around the dark room, he swallowed, huddling closer to the couch cushions.

He sat there for a long time, imaging monsters creeping from the shadows, too scared to go out into the hall to get to Mx Quinn's, despite their apartment being directly across from his own. After a while, he began imagining footsteps, large and heavy, thumping up a and down the hall outside.

Nelson trembled, pulling the blanket over his head and staring at the door. In his mind, the footsteps came to a stop, right outside.

Scowling, Nelson gave himself a shake. He was the  _Purple Ninja_ , and Ninja were never afraid!

That thought in mind, Nelson straightened, although he kept himself wrapped tight in the blanket. Then the door handle turned, and Nelson's heart jumped into his throat.

"Mum!" he gasped, as the door creaked open loudly, "You startle-"

His blood ran as cold as an icy river, goosebumps popping up on his skin. The blood drained from his face.

It wasn't his mum standing in the doorway. Instead, it was a woman in blood stained white rags.

* * *

"Conner!" snapped the Commissioner, "What's happened?"

"I-I'm not sure, sir," Conner stuttered, frantically typing away at his keyboard, "We've lost all power."

"But what about the backup generator?" asked Simon. A different officer shook his head.

"It's not coming on, detective. Everything's down."

"Well, get it back up again!" yelled Ronin, a glare masking his fear. The officers flinched, quickly returning to their computers.

The Commissioner sent Ronin a glare. "Now, listen here-"

The door to the interrogation room opened, Jay poking his head out. "Hey, what's going on? What's wrong with the lights?"

"Sir," Conner spoke up. They turned to look at him, but the rookie's eyes were glued to the two-way mirror. He raised his arm, pointing his index finger towards the glass. "She's smiling."

Almost in perfect unison, the room's occupants turned to look at the women on the other side of the mirror. Her eyes were gleaming mischievously, and a wide smile tugged at the corners of her lips, a smile that sent a shiver wracking up Ronin's spine.

"Oh god..."

Startled, Ronin turned to Seamus, who he'd completely forgotten was there. The ex-slave's face was pale and clammy in the darkness of the officer, and his eyes were wider than saucers, his fingers trembling at his sides.

"Dewer?" said Ronin. Seamus looked at him, then to Violet, slowly backing away from the window, shaking his head frantically. Ronin shared a look with Dareth.

"Seamus, what's wrong?" asked Jay. Inside the interrogation room, Nya called over to him, and Jay said something back. Ronin's eyes scanned the room, watching the officers running about in a panic, trying to get the power back on and find out how it went out in the first place.

"It was her," he muttered. Then, louder, "She put out the power."

"What?" said Tommy, sending him a look of disbelief, "How could she have done that?"

"No, wait, that make's sense!" Jay said, closing the door behind him, "Why else would she let herself get captured?"

"She didn't  _let_ herself get captured!" snapped an officer Ronin didn't know the name of.

"Ronin," Dareth hissed loudly in his ear, causing the mercenary to jump, "What if there's more of 'em here?"

For a brief moment, Ronin stared at him. The whole world must be turning upside down if  _Dareth_ was growing proper brains. "I... what?"

"Basilisk!" said Dareth, "What if there's more here?"

"What?" said the Commissioner, his head snapping towards them and his moustache bristling, "What do you mean there's more here?"

"Dareth here thinks that there might be more Basilisk about," said Ronin, "They could have been the ones to cut the power."

"This isn't the only building without power," Nya stated, leading the boys out of the interrogation room, a phone-like device in her hands. She raised her head to look at them, holding up the device and showing them the screen. It was a digital map of Ninjago, and a little more than half of it- including where Ninjago City was located- was flashing red. "It's half of Ninjago."

"You mean they've cut out the power of half of the entire  _continent_?" gasped Simon. Tommy shook his head, frowning.

"That's impossible!"

Nya glared at him, "Well, apparently not!"

"But why?" asked Zane, a titanium brow furrowed, "What could they possibly achieve from cutting off the power?"

"Kidnappings."

It was said in such a low voice that Ronin almost didn't catch it. Seamus stared at the ground, his eyes even wider than before, unseeing and glazed. He raised his head slowly, looking about at the people who were now staring at him.

"Kidnappings," he repeated, louder this time. "They... they're kidnapping people." Seamus took a deep, shaky breath, trembling even worse then before. He looked from the Ninja to the others, his face a look of pure terror.

"Right now."


	12. Panic

_Chapter Twelve:_

Panic

* * *

The police cruisers shot down the street like a fired bullet. The entire city was out, the normally bright buildings dark, the lights that were strung above the road practically invisible in the night. Even the traffic lights weren't working, leaving civilians stranded in their cars as the police struggled to contain the situation, the air filled with enraged honking.

The Ninja had brought no vehicles with them, which Lloyd found himself deeply regretting. Instead of hitching a ride in one of the cruisers, however, he'd decided to travel via rooftop. Cole had been able to convince Zane to stay behind and make sure nothing happened with Violet or Seamus, while he and the other Ninja raced off to help stop the kidnappings.

Ronin and Dareth were heading east, towards Jamukai Village, in the back of a police cruiser. Cole went south on a borrowed bike, to where he'd have to climb over a range of mountains to reach the towns beyond, although he would more than likely have to abandon it once reaching the mountains. Jay was going west, in the direction of his parent's junkyard and the villages further out, in one of his old, cycle-powered flight inventions. Nya went north, in the direction of Birch Wood forest. Lloyd wasn't entirely certain, but he could have sworn he saw her taking her own police cruiser.

With Zane guarding the station, that left Lloyd to Ninjago City.

His feet pounded silently against the rooftops, his hood protecting him from most of the wind assaulting his face. For the first time in years, the stars shone brightly over the city, no longer polluted by its blazing lights. He leapt over alleys, dodged rooftop greenhouses, pools and skylights, always hitting the ground running, not once allowing himself to slow down.

Sooner than Lloyd liked, the muscles in his legs began to burn from the exertion. His heart thumped loudly in his ears, like the steady beat of a drum, his eyes watering from the wind and forcing him to squint. His breaths came out in short pants.

Screaming.

Lloyd skidded to a stop at the edge of a building, having just been about to leap onto the next. His head snapped to the building opposite, panting, and then he looked down at the street bellow. His eyes narrowed.

People in rags, flimsy weapons clutched in their hands, dragging citizens out of the apartment complex and into a black van with tinted windows. Most of them were wearing black, but there was one, and only one, in blood stained white.

His stomach churned. He didn't want to know where the blood had come from.

There was another scream. Lloyd watched, eyes wide, as the men and women in black rags dragged an elderly lady in nothing but a bathrobe and slippers out of the front door. But she wasn't the one screaming. In fact, she seemed to be ranting, of all things, snapping at her them and telling them how this was the worst kidnapping she'd ever seen. One of them even flinched away from her.

Lloyd's lips curled, an amused laugh slipping past his lips, despite the situation. Then his smile fell, his heart plummeting to his stomach. Another man in rags exited the building and, screaming and kicking his legs widely in his arms, was a little boy in purple gi.

"Nelson." Lloyd's voice was a whisper, quickly carried away by the wind. Then his jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his sides. They threw Nelson and the ranting lady into the back of the van, slamming the doors shut, the van immediately rumbling to life.

The ninja straightened. He watched, eyes hard, as the van pulled away from the apartment complex and casually made its way down the street.

It turned the corner.

Lloyd ran.

* * *

The halls were dark, only lit by torches bolted onto the walls every now and again. The floor was rocky and uneven, leaving them stumbling on already weak legs, their feet and calves soon soaked from constantly stepping in puddles. Kaze flinched almost every time he stepped in one, although it slowly decreased as time went on. Echo couldn't see the ceiling, even with his enhanced vision; it vanished into darkness.

They limped through the halls in silence, afraid even the slightest noise could alert the guards. But they came across no guards, not even a slacker on their way to the kitchens, and were instead only accompanied by the loud echoes of their own footsteps.

"Kaze?" even though Echo had whispered it, his voice was still far too loud for his liking. Kaze must have agreed, because his head snapped left and right as though to make sure no one had heard, before he turned to Echo.

"What is it?" his brow furrowed, "Is something wrong?"

Echo shook his head, glancing over his shoulder. Every shadow he saw was Soren, creeping around the corner with a drill in his mangled hands, his face obscured by a snake-like mask. He inched closer to Kaze.

"I... I don't like this." he whispered, "Shouldn't there be guards?"

"Maybe there was an emergency." Kaze suggested, although he sounded unsure even to himself, "A-A fire or something. That could be why the door was opened."

Echo looked down at his feet, trying his best to not put too much of his weight onto Kaze, although his legs just shook more. He turned the idea over in his head, wondering if there was a chance that it was true.

It must have been a minute, maybe even two, before he spoke again. "But... the doors don't have a mechanism like that. Just... just a lock."

Kaze didn't answer. Echo wondered if he'd already known that.

His left leg, the one that had been broken when he'd first arrived, began to burn with a red-hot intensity. Echo realised that it must have never been repaired properly, along with the rest of him. Slowly, his weak, stumbling and terribly slow walk turned into a trembling, painful, even more terribly slow limp.

"Wait," they came to an abrupt stop, the only thing stopping him from falling over being Kaze's arm around his shoulders. He looked left and right, a frown creasing his brow. "Have we been here before?"

Echo blinked, then took a closer look at his surroundings. Rocky walls, uneven floor, puddles, semi-darkness. It looked like all the other halls.

"I... I'm not sure."

Kaze swore under his breath. His cheeks were flushed, shoulders hunched, panting. His emerald eyes glared at the floor, and, to Echo at the very least, he looked on the verge of tears. Kaze clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth together.

For a moment, Echo stared at him, wide-eyed. Suddenly, he was a lot more frightened than he had been before. He swallowed, hesitantly reaching out and placing a metal hand on Kaze's chest, just above his heart.

Kaze's eyes snapped open, flashing with something terrible that made Echo's hand flinch away. But then they softened, regret immediately shining in his wet eyes. "I..." his voice cracked. Kaze glanced to the side. "I'm sorry."

Echo stared at him. He tried to say it was okay, but the words were caught in his throat. He didn't know what to do.

He just wanted to go home.

A long moment passed. Then, finally, Kaze sighed, his eyes sliding closed. He stumbled over to the wall, Echo limping after him and almost tripping. Kaze gently helped Echo sit down, before leaning his back against the wall and sliding to the floor next to him.

They sat there in silence, not looking at each other, lost and tired. They could have sat there for weeks and months and years for all Echo knew, and they sat in silence still even when the pain had faded to a dull ache and Kaze was no longer panting.

It was not Echo who broke the silence, but, much to his surprise, Kaze. His voice was low and monotone, and he didn't tear his eyes from the opposite wall.

"What are you, Echo?"

Echo blinked, turning to Kaze with a confused frown. "What?"

"What are you?" Kaze repeated, still not looking at him, "You're almost exactly like Zane. You look like him, you walk like him, you even talk like him at times. But you're something...  _someone_ entirely different."

Finally, Kaze tore his gaze from the wall, his eyes locking with Echo's wide ones. "Is... is that why you're called Echo? You're an echo of Zane?"

Echo stared at him, not knowing what to say. Slowly, he turned away, looking down at his lap but not seeing it. The silence returned, descending upon them with an awkwardness that hadn't been present before.

"I... I'm sorry." said Kaze, fidgeting, "I shouldn't have asked."

"I'm a clone." the words came out in a whisper, a realisation that sent Echo's heart plummeting to his stomach. Then, louder, "I'm a clone."

His voice bounced off the walls, echoing down the hall like some kind of demonic rhythm. Echo clenched his eyes shut, his clockwork heart tightening.

"That's why father abandoned me," he said, more to himself than Kaze, "He didn't want me, he wanted Zane. I knew that. I knew that from the moment I realised I wasn't the original." Echo opened his eyes, looking down into a puddle next to him. His reflection stared back at him, it's face twisted and deformed, half the faceplate stripped away. A droplet fell from above, creating ripples in the water.

"I've never been Zane," he continued, his voice cracking, "I never  _will_ be Zane. Father... he was lonely. Desperate and afraid. I... I think he might have gotten a little bit mad." Echo reached out, dipping his finger into the puddle, creating another wave of ripples, "I was supposed to be my brothers replacement. But Zane doesn't care about that. The  _Ninja_ don't care about that." he faltered, slowly turning to Kaze, who was listening with wide eyes. Echo's eyes locked with his, desperate. Begging. "... Right?"

Kaze didn't seem to have an answer. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Echo and pulled him into a hug.

* * *

Yuki clung to the shadows, her feet silent on the filth-laced ground. Her blank eyes took in her surroundings carefully, her face hidden behind her white hood. The cold pierced at her exposed skin, but she did not react to it, nor did she make any attempt to get warmer.

This was the only place in all of Ninjago City that was unaware of the blackout. She watched them, most of the younglings asleep in their beds. They didn't notice her, were unaware of what was about to happen. Yuki would feel no remorse for these creatures, nor would she enjoy what she was about to do. Business was business.

And she had a master to serve.

* * *

The village was on fire.

Men, women and children dashed to and fro, screaming and crying. They were snatched, one by one, dragged into the black vans with sacks over their heads and zip ties around their wrists.

"Take as many as you can!" shouted Doro, striding passed the Black Rags as they dragged their captured towards the vans, "Leave behind the physically disabled! They'll be of no use."

"What about the elderly?" a man questioned, face obscured by his black shawl. Doro sneered at him.

"Anyone over seventy is to be left behind as well," she said, "Throw the younglings in with the adults. They'll be put to work as soon as they're able."

The man nodded, then marched over to where a wailing babe was being cradled by an elderly woman, who was whispering soothing words. She raised her head as he approached, eyes wide with fear.

Grabbing the baby, the man pulled them away from the old woman, who screamed and begged him not to hurt the child. The baby wailed anew, the woman crying alongside it, reaching out with weak arms as the man walked away. One of the other Black Rags grabbed her, dragging her away.

Doro watched, stone-faced, as the man marched towards the vans with the crying baby.

She almost smiled.

* * *

The hospital was in a panic.

Nurses and doctors were running up and down the halls, in and out of rooms, shouting at each other and trying desperately to calm down both patients and visitors. Doctors were forced to go in blind and baffled in the middle of surgery just to keep their patient alive, nurses were on top of the comatose and pumping at their chests to keep them breathing, family and friends of those in critical condition were shouting and screaming at any member of staff they laid their eyes on.

Misako was not a nurse. But that did not mean she knew nothing of first aid.

That was how she found herself running from room to room alongside the nurses, helping out as best she could. Some of the other visitors who knew a thing or two about first aid were quick to help out as well once they realised the gravity of the situation.

In the basement, technicians were working furiously on the backup generator, but they made little to no progress. Quite quickly, Misako's world was nothing but a blur of blood and crying patients. Sweat caused her clothes to cling to her uncomfortably, her muscles aching, but she didn't stop.

Once one patient was dealt with, she immediately turned to the next. Sometimes it took moments, other times it felt like hours, but it was too hard to tell for sure. She dared not check the time.

With every second the power was out, another life slipped further away.

* * *

Nelson's heart hammered in his chest, his breaths coming out in short gasps. Tears stung his eyes, and his hands trembled from where they were zip tied in his lap.

He wasn't the only one in the back of the van. Next to him, muttering under her breath about how she was missing her shows, was a rather irritated Miss Baker. Across from him was Mx Quinn, their eye swelling from where they'd been punched by one of the kidnappers. There was also Mr and Mr Swish, their toddler Kimmy, a teenager named Hector, Mrs Christa and her twins, Queenie and Kingsley, who were only a few years older than Nelson, and Alex Flick, a college student who lived directly above him.

His mother, however, was not with them.

"Nelson," his head snapped up, tearful eyes meeting Mx Quinn's soft grey ones. They sent him a little smile. "Are you alright, bud?"

Sniffing, Nelson nodded, wiping at his nose. He watched as the Swish's cuddled up next to each other, their daughter cradled tightly in their laps. Mrs Christa wrapped her arms around Queenie and Kingsley, which was quite the struggle seeing as how her hands were just as tied up at Nelson's.

He curled in on himself, clenching his eyes shut. He wanted his mum.

_Thump._

Almost in perfect unison, the occupants raised their heads, blinking at the roof of the van. Then there were more thumps, heading towards the front-

Shouting.

Then gunfire.


	13. Crimson

_Chapter Thirteen:_

Crimson

* * *

_The chair spun around and around, propelled by metallic feet pushing off the floor. The ceiling was a nausea-inducing whirlpool, and the only thing stopping him from falling off the chair was the continued spinning._

_Then the chair came to an abrupt stop, and Echo was immediately smacked by a wave of dizziness. A laugh sounded behind him._

_He turned, trying- and failing- to blink away the dizziness. Zane's titanium face blurred before him, an amused smile on his lips._

_"What are you doing, Echo?"_

_Echo blinked, his entire world still spinning. A giggle rose from his throat as he slid out of the swivel chair, only to stumble on his feet and almost fall over. Zane released the chair and grabbed him by the elbows to help steady him, who leant against him, another giggle passing his younger brothers lips._

_"Everything's spinning," Echo muttered, a lopsided grin on his faceplate. This was one of the most bizarre thing he'd ever experienced._

_"Well, that's usually what happens when you spin around on a swivel chair." Kai's voice came from behind them, as he made his way over to their front. He, too, looked highly amused. "Were you getting bored, pal?"_

_"_ I  _was getting bored." groaned Jay, appearing next to Kai, who rolled his eyes._

_Cole and Lloyd passed them, the former giving his blue brother an unimpressed look. "Yeah, we noticed."_

_"Jay," said Nya, coming up to him, "I love you, but trying to discreetly tickle Lloyd while he's talking to the Commissioner isn't the best idea."_

_"It's not that big of a deal, Nya," Jay replied, opening the hotel's mini fridge and pulling out a can of Pepsi, "I still can't believe they thought they could just tell us to stop fighting crime like that. I mean, we wouldn't_ need  _to do what we do if they had decent police officers!"_

_"Jay!" snapped Lloyd, glaring at him, "You know fine well the Commissioner and the police force had nothing to do with that."_

_Jay sighed, "I know, I know. It's just... how can they even_ think  _that? It's not like we're doing anything wrong."_

_"Actually, being a vigilante is against the law," stated Zane, Echo still leaning against him, "Although 'vigilante' isn't exactly a word I'd use to describe what we do."_

_"If we were vigilantes," Kai said, "We wouldn't be able to reveal our identities. And it's not like we go out_ looking  _for crime."_

_"Unless we're bored." Nya pointed out. Kai waved her off._

_"Point is, we're not vigilantes and we're not just going to stop helping Ninjago because some snobs with sticks up their butts told us to."_

_"I'm not disagreeing with you," said Cole, snatching Jay's Pepsi, who sent him a scowl. He returned it with a glare. "It's just that I don't think you should try to_ tickle  _someone in such a serious situation."_

_"What's a tickle?" asked Echo, having finally recovered from his dizziness. The Ninja turned to him in obvious surprise, most having forgotten he was even there._

_Jay blinked at him. "What do you mean 'what's a tickle'? You don't know what being tickled is?"_

_Echo finally pushed himself upright, Zane raising his hand incase he fell again. The shorter bot cocked his head to the side, fogged eyes shinning in confusion, "I... no?"_

_The Ninja stared at him for a long moment, before five heads turned towards Zane. Blinking, Echo followed their gazes, hopping his brother would give him an explanation._

_"Uh..." Zane rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly lost. A low mumble filled the silence, and Echo's head snapped left and right for the source, but couldn't find it._

_"Tickling is..." He moved to stand in front of him, moving his hands in a useless attempt to figure out to explain it, "It's basically like... like this..." Zane poked at Echo's tummy, who jumped back with a loud yelp that was followed by a giggle._

_A grin tugged at Zane's lips, and he poked at Echo again, who gave another squeal and dashed away, standing between the two double beds. Zane shared a wide smile with the other Ninja, before turning back to Echo, a mischievous look gleaming in his eyes._

_A nervous giggle rose from Echo's throat, "Wha-"_

_All at once, the Zane, Jay and Kai lunged, igniting another yelp from Echo. He stumbled backwards, startled, and fell over onto one of the double beds._

_The mattress sunk slightly, Jay and Kai grabbing him by the arms and pinning his arms down. Then Zane was practically on top of him, jamming his fingers into different parts of his stomach._

_Echo squealed, twisting in their grip, laughter bubbling in his throat. His grin was so wide that his cheeks were starting to ache. "S-S-Stop!"_

_"I didn't know nindroids were ticklish," Lloyd said, watching the scene unfold in amusement. Nya shrugged._

_"Most aren't. Their father, however, had been quite the genius."_

_Echo gave another high-pitched squeal, twisting and pushing himself further into the mattress in a desperate attempt to get away from the hands poking into his stomach._

_Zane laughed himself, moving upwards and poking underneath Echo's arms. The younger bot laughed, his legs thrashing and smacking harmlessly against the side of the bed, his body twisting in yet another useless attempt to pull free._

_Finally, Zane sat back on his haunches, grinning down at his younger brother. Echo panted, giving off tiny little giggles, his heart ticking loudly from the adrenaline._

_Jay and Kai finally released him, grinning at each other. Echo lay there for a long moment, struggling to catch his breath, wide grin still in place._

_Zane rolled off him, lying down next to him. The mattress dipped again as Lloyd, Cole and Nya joined them on the bed, Jay flopping down and stretching out on the pillows._

_"So," said Kai, after a long moment, "Fun, right?"_

_In answer, Echo gave a breathless giggle, rolled over and buried his face into Zane's arm._

"Echo?"

Unwillingly pulled from the pleasant memory, Echo blinked open sore eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the low lighting. Groaning, he removed his head from where it had been resting on Kaze's shoulder, raising a hand to rub at his pounding forehead.

"You okay?" asked Kaze. Absentmindedly, Echo nodded.

They were still in the same corridor as before, their backs pressed against the wall. Echo realised that he must have fallen asleep, although he hadn't a clue as to when, or how long they'd been sitting there.

"We..." Echo rubbed at his eye, immediately pulling his hand away when his face burned. He swallowed. "We should get going."

Kaze frowned at him for a long moment, as though debating how he should answer. "I... yeah. Okay."

Bracing himself on the wall, Kaze pulled himself to his feet, his legs trembling from sitting down for so long. He took a moment to steady himself, his arms aloft to help keep his balance.

He reached down, extending his hand towards Echo. The droid grabbed it, getting to his own feet and almost falling flat on his face. Kaze pulled Echo's arm around his shoulder, very nearly sending them both to the ground.

After yet another moment of steadying, they were able to stand up right, legs stiff and struggling to support them. They began to limp, feet dragging along the rocky ground, in a random direction. Echo couldn't remember whether it had been the direction they'd come from or not.

Everything looked the same.

* * *

Lloyd fell. The muscles in his legs tensed. The wind caused his eyes to water. His arms were spread. The van appeared beneath him as it turned the corner.

He slammed onto the top of the van, coming dangerously close to slipping off the edge. His fingers clawed automatically at the roof in search of something to hold onto, but he was quick to splay his palms once it began clear there was no perch.

Gritting his teeth, Lloyd scrambled towards the front of the van on all fours, his feet skidding across the roof. Muffled voices, in a language he vaguely recognised but couldn't understand. There was the whir of a window going down, and a head masked by a ragged shawl poked out.

Lloyd's eyes barely had time to widen before the man pulled out a gun, pointing it directly at the ninja.

_BANG!_

Taking in an almost painful lungful of air, Lloyd threw himself away from the window, slamming his back against the roof of the van. His legs dangled in open air, the van beginning to speed up.

Lloyd scrambled desperately for a perch, his fingers curling around the top of the open window. He held on for dear life, his entire body shifting along the roof as the van turned the corner dangerously fast.

Something hard rammed into his fingers and he yelled, instinctively releasing the top of the window. At the last minute, he swung himself, sliding down the tinted front window, the metallic bits on his gi scraping against it. There was more shouting from inside, and then-

_BANG!_

The bullet shattered the glass, taking off the tip of Lloyd's earlobe. He winced, but hardly had time to do anything else before another bullet shot through the window, this time going straight through his palm.

He screamed, blood soaking his black glove and dripping down onto his green sleeve, splattering against the van's sleek bonnet. Lloyd glared at the tinted window, his red eyes bright in the city's darkness, teeth clenched against the pain. His wounded hand, shaking, curled into an agonising fist. He brought it down on the glass, directly between the two bullet holes, and shattered it.

The two Basilisk in the front seat jumped, the gun pointed directly at Lloyd's face. The man pulled the trigger.  _BANG!_

Lloyd rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the bullet, and lunged. He grabbed the gun wielders wrist, forcing it upwards just as he pulled the trigger again-  _BANG!_

Ears starting to throb, Lloyd punched the man in the side of the head, then kicked the other one in the neck. He grabbed the gun, chucked it out the window, and then twisted the ex-gun wielders arm as the other Basilisk struggled to get the van under control and help his companion at the same time.

There was a sickening snap, and the man let out a loud scream. Lloyd released him and slammed his fist onto his forehead, leaving him slumping in his seat, unconscious.

The driver pulled out a jagged knife, attempting to stab Lloyd in the neck but missing by mere inches, instead burying the blade into the passenger seat. Lloyd karate-chopped the driver in the throat, causing him to choke and release the knife to clutch at his neck.

Spotting the grate directly behind his head, Lloyd rammed his elbow into it- once, twice, three times- before it went flying away. The driver reached out blindly, fingers curling around the collar of Lloyd's gi.

He swatted him away, not knocking him out in fear of the van crashing, and crawled through the grate's opening, thankful for his small size for what must have been the first time in his life.

Landing on his hands and forcing himself to ignore the agony that sprung through his wounded palm, he allowed himself to fall to his feet, rising and taking in the faces that were now turned towards him.

"Lloyd!" Nelson exclaimed, his entire face lighting up.

Lloyd pulled back his gi, revealing his face, and despite the throbbing of his wounds, he found his own lips turning upwards in a smile. But the moment was short-lived.

The bullet hole appeared directly above Nelson's head, and another appeared inches from a person with a black eye's neck. The person stiffened and got down on their front, the children quickly being covered.

"What happened to these guys being easy?" muttered Lloyd. He was starting to regret not bringing any weapons.

But he always had his green power.

Raising his hands in front of him, his brow furrowing in concentration, little trails of green energy began to float from his fingers, quickly forming a large ball of glowing light. Lloyd turned to the back of the van and fired.

The ball turned into a beam, blasting apart the back of the van and sending shards of shrapnel flying in all directions. Another van, directly behind the one Lloyd was in, swerved out of the way and crashed into a bus stop.

Poking his head out the newly formed hole, his hair whipping about in the wind, Lloyd looked about. The van was driving too fast for them to jump out. Perhaps he and the others would have been able to do it, but the hostages most likely never even considered jumping out of a speeding van.

He turned back to the hostages, all who were watching him expectantly. "Alright," he said, scrambling through his brain for what to do, "I'll go... slow down the van. You guys sit tight."

Lloyd crawled back through the open grate, leaving his legs dangling on the other side. The driver glanced back at him, trying to keep his eyes on the road at the same time, the result being him snapping his head from Lloyd to the road again and again.

"Uh, hey," said Lloyd, "Mind slowing down?"

The driver spat something in his unknown language. Lloyd sighed.

"Alright. Fine."

Bringing his hand up, he squeezed the back of the driver's neck. He tensed, eyes rolling into the back of his head, and then slumped against the wheel.

Lloyd pulled himself further into the front, shoving the unconscious Basilisk aside and grabbing onto the steering wheel. The van swerved, tilting slightly as it went onto the sidewalk, causing Lloyd to slide further into the front.

Grunting, he forced to van back onto the road. The van wasn't slowly down, at least not fast enough. The edge of the open grate dug painfully into his navel, and his legs hung openly in the air. At the back of his mind, he realised how odd he must look.

Someone tapped on the back of his knee. The van bounced as it hit a pothole, an uncomfortable pain in his navel where the edge of the grate dug into him. Lloyd winced, glancing over his shoulder despite not being able to see past his own body. "Yeah?"

"Get out of that window, boy!"

Startled, Lloyd hesitantly released the steering wheel and slid out of the grate. An elderly woman, the one in a bathrobe and slippers, pushed him aside. "I drive," she said, and then promptly hopped through the window and pulled herself all the way through, vanishing into the front.

Lloyd turned to the other hostages. His startlement must have shown on his face, because Nelson sent him a crocked smile that showed off a missing tooth.

"She's always like that."

Shaking his head, Lloyd made his way over to the hole he'd created earlier. The van was slowing down considerably, and they might just be able to let it come to a complete stop before anyone had to jump out.

"Alright," said Lloyd, turning and taking in the hostages. He counted four children, Nelson included, a guy who was around Lloyd's age, a toddler, three adults and the old woman that had insisted on driving. He gestured to the toddler.

"She and the teenager can go first. We need to do this as fast as possible."

"What?" said the teen, his eyes widening. Lloyd made his way over to him and hauled him up by the arm. The teen's hands, like all the other hostages, were bound with a zip tie.

"What's your name?" asked Lloyd.

The teen hesitated, glancing to the side, "Uh... H-Hector."

Lloyd gave a small nod, before going over to the open grate. He stuck his head through, spotting the old woman sitting in the drivers seat, the two unconscious Basilisk piled onto each other. Lloyd reached through the grate and grabbed the knife, which was still embedded into the seat.

The old lady glanced at him as he pulled it out, raising an eyebrow at the weapon. "Don't cut yourself."

Lloyd sent her a deadpanned look, before returning to the back of the van. Hector gave a frightened squeak at the sight of the jagged knife.

"Calm down," said Lloyd, "I'm just going to cut the tie." He grabbed the teens hands and slid the knife between the zip tie, snapping it and effectively freeing him.

Lloyd turned, kneeling in front of the little girl, who cuddled up closer to her fathers. "Hey," he said, smiling kindly, "Can I see your hands?"

The child hesitated, looking up at her dads for help. They shared a look, before nodding down at her. "Go ahead, Kimmy." said the one with glasses.

The little girl, Kimmy, hesitantly held out her hands. Giving her another smile, Lloyd took the jagged blade between the zip ties, pulling until it snapped in half. Straightening, Lloyd handed the knife to Glasses, before looking back over at the road again.

Lloyd's eyes widened, "Crap."

Two other vans had appeared behind them. One had a dented front, so it was most likely the one that had crashed earlier. Perched on the sides and roofs of the vans were men and women wielding makeshift weapons, their black rags flying behind them.

"Lloyd?" Nelson reached up, clutching at the Ninja's green sleeve, "Lloyd, what do we do?"

Nervously licking his lips, Lloyd looked down at Nelson, his heart twisting when he realised the boy's eyes were shiny with tears. He looked back at the vans. "Maybe if we-"

Abruptly, a cable-wire launched from one of the vans, latching onto the floor of the van. Lloyd instinctively pushed Nelson away, just as another cable-wire latched to where he'd been standing not a moment before.

Black Rags began scuttling across the wire like massive rats, some on all fours, some faster than others, most with some sort of weapon but a few with nothing. Eyes widening, Lloyd looked down at the large hooks connecting the vans to theirs.

Raising his foot, he slammed it onto the closest hook, trying to jostle it out of place. The cable-wire shook, and the Black Rags faltered, but were quick to continue their pursuit.

"Here!"

The dad without glasses, he and his husband free from their zip-ties, tossed the jagged knife towards him. Lloyd caught it by the handle, just as the first Black Rag reached the van and lunged at him.

Lloyd stabbed the Black Rag in the shoulder, igniting a loud scream that caused his ears to throb, and kicked her onto the road. The dads were struggling with the hooks, trying to detach them, while the children were huddled to the back, the rest of the adults starting to help with the hooks. The elderly lady was starting to shout from the front, asking what was happening.

His wounded hand burned, but he did not release the jagged knife. In his other hand, a ball of green energy zapped to life between his fingers. The Black Rags scuttled towards them like some kind of demonic monkeys. Lloyd took a deep breath.

Then stabbed the closest Black Rag in the throat.

* * *

Screaming. Serpentine, battered and bruised, dragged into cages by hooked wires on the end of long sticks, thrown around their throats, as though they were rabid dogs. Blood covered the floor, the walls, the stories engraved into the stone obscured. Younglings wailed in their much smaller cages, reaching through the bars for their parents, some of who lay immobile on the floor in pools of crimson.

They ran. Together, alone, this way or that way, they ran and they were chased. Some fought. Held them back. Those ones were captured. Or killed.

Serpentine spilled out onto the streets of Ninjago City. Constrictai dug through the earth to make shortcuts. The entire colony was a mess of confusion and panic and  _blood._ Never before had Skales Jr seen so much blood.

"Mama!" he screamed, but could hardly hear himself over the chaos arround him. The city was so much darker than his father had told him. "Papa!"

The wire cut through the scales on his throat, yanking him backwards. Skales Jr screamed, screamed so loudly that it was all he could hear, thrashing and kicking as he was dragged along the ground.

He was thrown onto cold metal, quickly followed by the slam of a gate and the click of a lock. Skales Jr twisted around, hardly able to move in the tiny cage. He grabbed the bars, rattled them and shook them and pulled them, screaming, screaming, screaming with all the others.

The doors of the van slammed shut, and Skales Jr could see nothing but darkness.

Screaming, screaming, screaming in the dark.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Fourteen:_

Nightlight

* * *

The rest they'd taken had, for the first hour, done wonderous things. They'd been able to pick up the pace, and Echo would have probably been able to walk on his own had his broken leg not burned so badly whenever he put weight on it.

But, of course, these wonders eventually passed, and it was back to the slow limping, neither of them knowing who was putting more weight on the other. There was nothing but dark, twisted corridor after dark, twisted corridor. Sometimes it would be so dark that Echo wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face. These bouts of darkness would sometimes only last moments, while at other times it would seem as though they would never leave it behind.

The only noise was their footsteps against the rocky floors, the splash of puddles and the dripping of water from somewhere high above in the infinite black. Echo wondered if there was even a ceiling at all, if the black abyss above them was actually the night sky. That thought gave him hope, for the sky never remains black forever.

* * *

Walking, walking, his legs trembling beneath him. His chest burned from lack of breath, and he was having trouble holding himself up right. Holding Echo up wasn't helping matters. Briefly, he considered abandoning him. But that thought was quickly pushed aside.

He kept his head bowed. Focused on his feet, putting one foot in front of the other. The water on his legs was cold and damp and would have sent his mind into a panic had he not been so  _tired._

He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around it. Being human again.

One foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right.

He was so tired.

* * *

The Black Rag fell to the ground, drowning in his own blood. He tumbled out the van, his body smacking against the road with a sickening  _crack!_  He was already dead when the other van ran him over.

Lloyd didn't give himself time to regret his actions. He spun to face the next Black Rag, bringing his hand up to block a punch, ignoring the pain blazing in his palm. Raising his other hand, the one that tingled with power, he punched the Black Rag in the chest and sent him flying down the street in a flare of green.

Another Black Rag, this one female, lunged at him. Lloyd made to dodge, but was too slow, and she wrapped her arm around his throat, swung herself behind him and  _squeezed._

Lloyd choked, his hands instinctively going up to the arm around his throat in an attempt to get it off. With a grunt, he hoisted the woman higher and began to spin, faster and faster and faster until he was a mini green tornado. The woman's grip left him, and when he came to a stop, he was just in time to see her slump against the van's wall. The college student kicked her out the hole.

A badly-made mace was swung at his head, but Lloyd ducked, spun and kicked the Black Rag wielding it in the legs, knocking him over. A knife, much larger than the jagged one in his hand, scratched his cheek, coming away with a red tip. Lloyd punched them in the stomach, then the chin, before shoving them out of the van.

"How's it going back there?" he asked, as yet another Black Rag rushed towards him, a short sword held above her head. He blasted the sword away in a burst of green energy, grabbed the woman and spun, green sparks dashing around him. He let go, sending her flying over the vans.

"We need more time!" one of the dads shouted back, "We've almost got this one out!"

Lloyd wasn't given time to answer. Two Black Rags lunged at him at the same time, one left, one right, with rusted swords clenched in their hands. Lloyd jumped over them, and the two Black Rags skidded to a stop before they could slam into each other.

They spun around and one of them swung their sword. Lloyd ducked, the blade scraping against the top of his head but not cutting, before smacking into the wall and shattering.

This time, it was Lloyd who charged. But then his heart leapt as his foot slipped in a pool of blood, sending him slamming into the ground. Pain raged up the back of his head upon contact with the ground.

Then someone was on top of him, their hands curling around his throat and  _squeezing_. Lloyd choked, eyes bulging, clawing at the hands with his non-injured one.

The Black Rag pressed down harder, squeezing tighter, their eyes wide with excitement. Lloyd's chest began to burn as he desperately tried to breathe, pushing weakly at the Black Rags' chest.

Small arms wrapped around the Black Rags own neck, their eyes almost bulging out of their skull in surprise. The arms tightened, pulling them back, and the Black Rag was forced to release Lloyd to free himself.

Lloyd gratefully sucked in a lungful of air, coughing. Panting, he raised his head, eyes widening when he realised who was strangling the Black Rag.

Nelson's legs were wrapped around the Black Rags chest so he wouldn't fall off, both of his entier arms wrapping around their neck, tighter and tighter like twin Constrictai. For a bizarre moment, it looked almost as though the Black Rag was giving Nelson a piggyback ride.

Giving himself a shake, Lloyd struggled to his feet, his muscles throbbing and his wounds flaring with a white hot pain. Taking steady breaths, he ran towards the Black Rag, spun around in a spray of green sparks, balled his hand into a fist, put out his arm and punched them smack damn in the side of the face in a spray of teeth, blood and spit.

With a  _thump_ , Nelson fell to the ground, gasping. One of the other kids shouted something that Lloyd didn't catch, and then Nelson was quickly scrambling back over to them.

The Black Rag fell to the ground as well, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Lloyd stood there, panting, sweating, the copper tang of blood thick on his tongue and high up his nose. His hand burned, his cheek and earlobe stung, his body was a mess of black, blue and red. Some of the red didn't even belong to him.

"Lloyd!" the girl twin screamed.

Eyes widening, Lloyd spun on his heels, just in time to block the kick that was about to hit him in the chest. He twisted the Black Rags leg in a way it was not supposed to twist, snapping the bone in two with a  _crack_.

The Black Rag screamed. They raised their hand and punched Lloyd in the side of the head, right on his slashed earlobe. Lloyd gasped, releasing the Black Rags leg, who dropped to the ground.

He stumbled backwards, standing on something soft and squishy. The Black Rag he'd knocked down previously yelled, Lloyd instinctively moving away in surprise. They curled on their side, clutching at their fractured wrist, the rags around their mouth falling off, revealing missing front teeth and blood coated lips.

 _CRACK!_ The hook snapped off, zipping out of the van and onto the road. The Black Rags that had been in the process of climbing across the cable-wire fell to the ground, tumbling over each other and scrapping skin against the hard cement. The van that the hook was attached to screeched to an abrupt halt, coming dangerously close to running the Black Rags over.

"We got one!" the mother cheered.

Another Black Rag reached the end of the second cable. Lloyd turned to her, raising his fists. She hardly glanced at him, leaping onto the roof of the van with a  _thump._ Lloyd swore.

He ran to the edge of the hole, grabbing onto the side and looking up to try and spot the Black Rag. He made to follow her, only to be tackled back into the van.

Lloyd brought his legs to his stomach and kicked the Black Rag in the stomach, knocking him out of the hole again and onto the road. Scrambling to his feet just as another jumped across the last lengths of the cable-wire, Lloyd ran at them, ramming his shoulder into their chest and sending them away.

There was a yell from up front, and then the van can to a sudden halt. Lloyd grabbed the side of the van to stop himself from tumbling out, gritting his teeth against the pain that flared up his injured palm.

The hostages toppled over each other, falling to the floor with screams of surprise. There was more yelling up front, quickly followed by the  _smack_ of a hand against flesh. Struggling, limbs banging against anything and everything, and then a stillness that sent Lloyd's heart pounding in his throat.

"Miss Baker?" the male twin called out hesitantly. He received no verbal answer.

The van began to move again. The tiers screeched against the cement. Faster, faster, the engine rumbling and grumbling beneath the bonnet. The van was moving so fast that they had to grab ahold of the walls or the floor to stop themselves from falling over. Half of Lloyds' body dangled out the back of the van.

Rough hands grabbed at his hair, igniting a yell of both pain and surprise, tugging and pulling harshly. Tears stung Lloyds' eyes as he struggled, trying to release the hands in his hair while trying not to fall out the speeding van at the same time.

He brought his knee up, hitting his attacker in the stomach and winding them. Not allowing them to recover, he released the wall with one hand and shoved them away in a blast of green, some of his hair getting pulled out in the process with a spine-tingling  _rip_.

Lloyd raised his head, trying to think of what to do. His eyes widened upon spotting the net flying towards him, but he hadn't spotted it soon enough.

The thick ropes, weighed down by stones, wrapped around him like a fisherman making the catch of the day. Lloyd stumbled, the only hand gripping the wall slipping on its own blood, his glove momentarily getting caught on the edge.

He heard Nelson scream his name, before he slammed onto the road, his breath forcefully leaving his lungs, his shoulder collapsing beneath him like an egg. He cracked the side of his head against the cement.

He didn't remember closing his eyes.

* * *

Zane paced. His shoes clicked against the floor, and his hat lay abandoned on one of the desks. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He reached the wall. Turned around and started again.

"She's not going anywhere," Seamus spoke up, breaking the thick silence that had, at some point, descended upon the police station. Zane shook his head, not answering. Turned around. Started again.

Seamus sighed, leaning back in his chair. It was hard to make out his features in the darkness, but it was clear in the way his shoulders slumped that he was tired. He'd probably been tired for a very, very long time.

Zane came to a stop, just in front of the two-way mirror. Glared at the violet-eyed woman on the other side, sitting casually in her seat. If anything, she looked bored out of her mind.

His thoughts must have shown, for Seamus sent him a weary eye, "I don't think interrogating her will do much."

"I could always try," Zane muttered. Seamus shook his head.

"Those detectives have already tried, Zane."

"Well, I'll try harder."

Seamus didn't answer. He turned to watch Violet.

Zane ran a hand down his face, leaning against the wall.

 _"Zane,"_ said PIXAL,  _"Your stress levels are rising."_

The nindroid gave a low hum, one that gave no true answer. PIXAL appeared on his screen, her green eyes narrowed.

_"You're acting like a hormonal teenager."_

Zane sent a deadpan look at the wall, wishing PIXAL still had a body for him to send the look to. He'd already gotten quite a few strange looks while conversing with her in public. Sensing his thoughts, PIXAL giggled.

He rolled his eyes, unable to help the way his lips twitched upwards. Zane blinked, realising that Seamus was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Seamus' cheeks tinted red, "Oh, uh... you were just acting a little, uh..."

Zane just looked at him, unsure how to explain the fact that his... compatible partner was inside his head. Seamus went even redder, casting his eyes away.

"Uh... nevermind."

Slightly relieved, Zane turned to look through the two-way mirror. Violet was balancing on the back legs of her chair again, her cuffed hands held out in front of her in an attempt to help keep balance.

"I'm going in," he said finally. Seamus nodded, the red fading from his face.

"Just, uh... " he shrugged weakly, "Have fun?"

Zane sent him an amused smile, before opening the door and sliding through, the door locking behind him. Violet looked up immediately, a smile lighting up her pale face. The chairs front legs slammed back to the ground.

 _"We've already interrogated her, Zane,"_ said PIXAL,  _"She's not going to tell us anything else."_

"We'll see about that," Zane whispered, making his way towards the metal table, standing behind the empty chair.

"Oh, thank god," Violet sighed, slumping in her seat in mock-relief, "I was getting  _so_ bored."

Zane decided not to answer, instead crossing his arms. PIXAL remained on his screen.

Violet raised a thin eyebrow at him, seemingly disappointed, "Really? Nothing? Why'd you even come in here?"

"Who are you, Violet?" asked Zane.

She sighed, irritated, leaning back and regarding him with little interest. "You just said my name."

"Who are you really?" Zane asked. His voice was hard, as cold as the ice that curled in his core, "Why are you apart of Basilisk?"

For a long moment, Violet just stared at him. Then she laughed, a small laugh that shook her shoulders, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. "Why are you apart of the Ninja?"

Zane blinked, startled. He glanced at the two-way mirror, where he knew Seamus was most likely watching. He returned his gaze to Violet, who was smirking at him. He scowled. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you apart of the Ninja?" Violet repeated, "It's not like you're human. You're a machine. You're  _programmed_ to be good."

"Cole's not human." Zane pointed out.

"But he used to be." said Violet, "And he's still  _like_ a human. He can still make conscious choices. He's a human soul." She leant back in her chair again, regarding him with a sly smirk that only caused him to hate her even more, "You, on the other hand, aren't. You're a computer. A tool. They only have you around became you're useful."

"How could you possibly know that?" asked Zane, shifting his weight to his other foot. To the side of his screen, PIXAL's eyes flashed with something that looked like concern.

"It's obvious," Violet drawled, "Get broken beyond repair? They'll just buy a new one."

"What do you mean 'buy a new one'?" Zane glared at her, once again crossing his arms across his chest. He hated the way she was smirking at him. He hated the way that her words were tugging at thoughts that he had buried deep within his mind long ago. He hated the way his heart was beginning to twist in his chest.

"Oh, don't be so dumb," Violet laughed, "I thought you were the  _smart_ one. Thing is, Cupcake, if something happens to you, your 'friends' will just get a new nindroid."

"They wouldn't do that." Zane denied. Violet cocked her head to the side.

"Oh? But haven't they before?"

Zane's mouth had gone mysteriously dry. He turned on his heel and marched out of the room, Violet's laughter following him even after the door closed behind him.

Seamus watched him with wide eyes, standing right up next to the two-way mirror. "Zane? Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zane said shortly, his voice almost as monotone as it had been before he'd opened up to his friends. He ignored Seamus' eyes boring into the back of his head as he marched passed him and into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Zane leant his back against the wall, glaring at the floor, his hands clenching and unclenching in agitation. PIXAL was still on his screen.

_"Zane?"_

He shook his head, unable to come up with a verbal answer. There was a short bout of silence.

 _"They're not your friends."_ PIXAL said, causing Zane to stiffen,  _"They're your brothers."_

Zane blinked, slowly relaxing, realising she'd accessed his thoughts. It wasn't often that she did that; in fact, this must have been only the third or fourth time that she'd done it on purpose.

 _"You're still Zane,"_ PIXAL continued,  _"You're just... shinier."_

A small laugh bubbled up Zane's throat. PIXAL grinned at him.

_"Besides, who could replace you? You're one of a kind."_

Slowly, Zane's smile fell. He raised his head, looking up and down the dark hall. He wondered where Echo was.

"Yeah," he muttered, "One of a kind."

PIXAL's own smile fell, concern flashing across her digitalised face. Zane wished she was here with him, in the physical world. He wanted to hug her. Properly.

 _"I wish that too,"_ PIXAL whispered.

"Zane!"

The nindroid's head snapped towards the door he'd come through, just as Seamus pushed it open, his eyes locking with Zane's electric blue, "She's- She's walking around!"

Eyes widening, Zane and Seamus ran back into the room, skidding to a stop in front of the two-way mirror. Indeed, Violet was circling the table as though she were taking a casual stroll through the park, hands still handcuffed in front of her.

"What's she doing?" Zane asked, more to himself than Seamus, "How'd she even get up? Wasn't she chained to the chair?"

Seamus shook his head, "I-I don't think so."

Zane scratched the back of his hair, looking from Violet to Seamus, "Well, then, maybe it's no big deal. If she was never-"

The lights came back on, causing Zane to gasp as he was momentarily blinded, having long since grown used to the darkness. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to blink his vision back. It was like someone had just turned on the lights while he was half asleep in bed.

Scrubbing his eyes raw, Zane blinked again, his vision slowly adjusting, probably much quicker than a humans. He looked up, through the two-way mirror- and his mouth popped open in shock.

Violet was gone.


	15. Awaken

_Chapter Fifteen:_

Awaken

* * *

He drifted, between the realms of timeless darkness and reality. He was numb, hardly able to open his eyelids the few times he was conscious enough to try. His mind whirred and spun like a typhoon, a dull ache settling in the back of his spine.

A tapping, on his cheek. A voice, one he could not decipher, a jumble of noise in his head. Shaking.

After a few tries, he was able to open his eyes a crack, only to be assaulted by bright lights. With a weak grunt, his eyes slid closed again. The voice persisted. He drifted away.

Sometime later- a minute, a month, he didn't know- he was being lifted. Hands held his limbs, moving him as carefully as possible. He was placed on something soft, but firm. Leather straps curled around his body, the click of buckles. He tried to struggle. They forced him back into place.

Beeping. Constant. An annoyance that hurt his forehead. He tried to turn his head away, to at least muffle it. A hand laid on his chest, a voice in his ear. Then he was gone again.

Awake. Asleep. He was having trouble telling them apart.

He stood before a monster. Its skin was charred black. Its hair was dark and wiry beneath its helmet. The monster was taller than him, towering, looking down at him with crimson eyes and jagged teeth. For a moment, he was scared, his heart hammering in his chest.

Then the monster smiled. It's skin lightened, its helmet melted upon its head, turning its hair grey. Wrinkles appeared across its face. Its teeth turned blunt. The rage in its red eyes melted away, replaced by something that sent a warm feeling shooting up his chest.

The monster had been replaced by a man, an elderly man. Mesmerised, he reached towards him with a strangely short arm. The man curled his fingers around his own. His whole hand hardly fit in his palm.

"It's okay," the man whispered, his voice the softest thing he'd ever heard, "It's okay, Lloyd."

Abruptly, he realised he was crying. The tears trailed down his cheeks in silent rivers, dripping off his chin and onto his shirt. He couldn't remember when he'd started.

The man stepped closer, whipping away his tears, but they were quickly replaced by more. He wasn't sure why he was crying, but he knew it was for a valid reason. If only he could remember what that reason was.

The man's eyes were soft with concern. His heart twisted. He didn't want to worry the man.

"It's okay," the man muttered, pulling his oddly small body closer into a hug. He clutched at him, burying his head into his shoulder. His voice was caught in his throat. He tried to speak, to say something, but his tongue fumbled in his mouth and what was supposed to be a sentence turned into blubbering.

The man's arms tightened around him. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, thick with tears that he refused to shed, "It's okay, son."

He drifted.

* * *

Ever since Jay was little, he'd always had an excitable energy around him. When he was on his way to an amusement park with his parents, he'd run ahead and urge them to hurry up. When it was the night before Christmas or his birthday or any holiday in general, he'd be sitting up in his bed, bouncing up and down until he finally passed out. When he'd finally figured out a way to make his latest invention work, even if it was two in the morning and he was half asleep or if he was in the middle of a shower, he'd be shooting towards his workshop, sometimes with nothing but a towel on.

When Nya had agreed to go on a date with him, he'd been pacing up and down the halls, all around his workshop, mumbling what he was going to say underneath his breath and then snapping at himself when he realised how stupid it sounded. When he was watching Zane refusing to let go of the Overlord, he'd screamed and screamed, running to and fro in a terrified fit, until he was dragged down into the sewers.

It had only been the aftermath of that event, with ice solid on the streets and along the buildings of Ninjago, that Jay had felt as though every last bit of energy had been drained from his body.

He pushed the thought away, to the dark corners of his mind that he would never allow anyone to see. Now was not the time. Not now.

His phone still clutched in his hand, his heart thumping in his ears. His legs moved, one foot after the other, faster and faster as his nervous energy was channelled into a run terrifyingly similar to one he'd done when he'd thought his dad had died.

Jay was fast.

Sometimes, though, he wasn't fast enough.

* * *

Silence covered him like a blanket. All he could hear was the steady beat of his heart in his chest and his own soft breathing. He was comfy, and yet uncomfortable at the same time.

Kai forced open his eyes, blinking rapidly when they were assaulted by bright lights and white walls. He coughed, which he immediately regretted, groaning as he became aware of the pulsing pain all along his body.

"Kai?" The bed dipped, and a gentle hand settled in his hair. Kai blinked again, looking towards the blurred figure sitting next to him. It took a moment, but his vision slowly settled, and he was greeted with the sight of a relieved looking Misako.

"M-Misako?" Again, Kai coughed, desperately trying to stifle it when hot pain shot up his front, but this only made things worse, sending him into the most painful coughing fit he'd ever experienced.

A glass of water was thrust in front of his face, and Kai gulped it down greedily, cool water trickling down the sides of his mouth. When he'd finished, Misako took the glass away, and Kai allowed himself to take in his surroundings.

He was in what could only be a hospital room. The walls and the floor were stark white, and there was a shuttered window over to his right and a closed door to his left. The room was mostly bare, apart from a few random chairs scattered about, which had some familiar coloured blankets strown on them, and medical equipment. Curiously, none of the machines were on. An oxygen mask sat on the table beside him, and his favourite red blanket had been placed over the white one.

His burnt skin tingled, and he clenched his eyes shut, the scorching explosion that had enveloped him burning in his mind like an eternal furnace of agony. He took steady breaths, his chest aching. The bandages wrapped around his body were tight, almost uncomfortably so, and beneath them his skin throbbed.

Kai remembered, when he was very young, how he'd often burn himself while trying to help his father in the blacksmith. Eventually, it had gotten so bad and so often that his mother had refused to let him anyone near the workshop for almost three months, before his father had convinced her to let him continue to help by promising to keep him away from the dangerous stuff.

A small smile tugged at Kai's lips, but it was quick to fall when pain shot up his cheeks. He turned back to Misako, who was switching switches and turning cogs on the medical machines. His eyes wandered, and his heart froze in his chest.

Across from him, closest to the window, was another bed. The figures blond hair was bright in the hospital's light, and the steady rise and fall of their chest was the only thing stopping Kai from leaping from his bed right then and there. Much like his own, a green blanket was spread out over the hospital's white one.

Misako followed his gaze, and finally shattered the silence that had descended upon them, "Don't worry. He's fine, just a little banged up."

Kai's mouth had gone mysteriously dry. He swallowed, licking his lips, "What... What's happened?"

Misako sighed, "A lot." She sat back down on the bed, having finally ceased fiddling with the machines, "What's the last thing you remember, Kai?"

The ninja took a moment to answer. The blast itself flashed before his eyes. He remembered screaming, screaming louder than he'd ever screamed before, and for the first time in his life he'd actually found himself fearing the fire that surrounded him. Not even when he was saving Nya from Lord Garmadon, all those many years ago when he'd first met the original three Ninja, had he been frightened of the lava or the fire. Weary, yes. But not frightened.

"The explosion."

Misako watched him for a long moment, but Kai said no more. She glanced over at her unconscious son, then back at him. "Anything else?"

He hesitated, before shaking his head. "Just pain." Kai's gaze returned to Lloyd's prone form, "What happened to him?"

"He and the other Ninja," Misako began, completely aware of the subject change, "Were called to the police station. Something about them capturing one of Basilisk's. Then the power just... went out. I left to try and help the doctors keep the patients alive." he eyes glazed over, a faraway look taking over her aging face. When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet Kai almost didn't catch it, "We weren't able to save them all."

A thick silence descended upon them once more. Kai's heart plummeted to his stomach, unwilling tears stinging the back of his eyes. His fingers twitched, and he longed to curl his hands into fists, but they were far too heavily bandaged, pain blazing through them when he moved too much.

He swallowed, "And... and Lloyd?"

Misako blinked, shaking herself from whatever hellish memories she'd been dragged into, "I'm not too sure. He was found in the middle of the street, tied up in a net. They brought him here and they fixed him up. I called the others; they should be arriving any moment now."

Kai nodded, not tearing his eyes from Lloyd. He couldn't see his face, for it was turned away, and instead took to staring at the back of his blond head. His entire body groaned and screeched, but that didn't stop him from forcing himself into a sitting position.

"Kai," said Misako, her voice taking on a firm tone that the Ninja had long since grown used to over the years, "You shouldn't be sitting up."

"I'm going to check on him." Kai grunted, making to pull his legs out from under the blankets and onto the floor. However, Misako stopped him, placing a firm yet gentle hand on his thigh.

"You're going to hurt yourself more."

He glared at her, "I'm going to check on him."

"He's fine."

"I don't care."

A beat of silence, Kai glaring into Misako's firm eyes. Finally, she sighed.

"I'll drag his bed over. Will that do?"

After a brief moment of thought, Kai nodded, satisfied. Misako sighed again, this time in relief, and stood up, giving the fire ninja a light touch to his unbandaged shoulder as he laid back down. Kai watched, adjusting the blankets on top of him slightly, as Misako began to push Lloyd's bed closer to his own.

It screeched across the floor loudly, but since neither he nor Lloyd were attached to any machines, it was over quickly. Lloyd's bed was shoved against Kai's, forming a makeshift double bed.

Almost immediately, Kai reached out, gently touching the younger ninja's cheek. Lloyd didn't stir as his brother turned his head, nor did he wince when he lightly brushed his thumb against his stitched earlobe.

Misako watched from the other side of her son's bed, a smile on her lips as she watched the scene. It made her so happy, and yet so sad, seeing that her son had made his own family in her and Garmadon's absence.

"What are his injuries?" Kai asked, his voice quiet, as though fearing he'd awaken the sleeping ninja. Misako glanced at the clipboard placed at the end of her son's bed.

"His scalp was ripped a bit," she said, "Probably from his hair being pulled out. He's got a torn earlobe, a pretty deep cut on his cheek, he got shot in the hand, his shoulder's fractured and he's got a nasty bump on the back of his head."

Astonished, Kai shook his head, a rage deep inside his stomach bubbling to life. His voice was hard, almost a hiss, when he spoke next, "Who?"

Misako sent him a weary look, "Basilisk. Most probably, anyway. I don't know much; I've been here the whole time."

Kai found himself too angry to give an answer, so he said nothing. Rage boiled and churned in his stomach, his jaw clenching and his hand unconsciously tightening on the sleeve of Lloyd's shirt. He should have been there, out fighting, helping, instead of taking a long nap in bed. Maybe if he'd been there, Lloyd wouldn't have got hurt.

"What about the others?" Kai asked, not looking away from Lloyd, "Are they hurt too?"

Misako shook her head, "Nothing critical, at least. The only reason Lloyd's here is because they got a lucky blow to the head."

Kai remained silent, his eyes trailing down to Lloyd's heavily bandaged hand. A bullet wound. That one had the highest chance of scarring, if only faintly. Basilisk didn't have any guns when they'd fought them in the forest; they had the farthest things from guns.

The door burst open, causing both Kai and Misako to jump and twist towards it. Pain zapped up Kai's body, and he grunted, grinding his teeth together to stop himself from crying out.

Jay stood in the doorway, panting, sweat beading his brow. From behind him came an equally exhausted, if not more so, Cole, who slumped against the doorway, clutching at the stitch in his side.

Upon spotting Kai, they're eyes widened, and with a sudden burst of energy they were shooting towards him. A startled yelp tore from the ninja's throat, just as Jay and Cole collapsed beside his bed and wrapped him into one of the gentlest and sweatiest hugs he'd ever experienced.

His skin crawled and burned, but it was barrable, so Kai allowed his brothers to hug him. After a long moment, they pulled away, Kai's eyes widening in surprised when he realised their eyes were shiny with tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately. The two hastily wiped at their eyes, sending him wide smiles.

"Nothing," said Cole, "We're just... We're just glad you're okay."

Before Kai could even think of a way to respond, the door opened again, a lot less violent than the way Jay and Cole had entered. Wu, Nya, Zane and Seamus came in one by one, large smiles plastered on their faces when they spotted him.

"Kai!" Nya exclaimed, rushing towards him and gently wrapping her arms around him. Kai was quick to return the hug, holding her close despite the way his entire front burned at the action.

"Hey, sis," he said, "Miss me?"

Nya laughed, a small, relieved laugh, "You wish, bozo."

Kai raised his head at Zane's approach, who knelt down next to Nya, Jay and Cole, "I'm glad you've finally awoken, Kai."

"Yeah," Kai licked his lips, Nya releasing him to sit back on her haunches, "How long was I out?"

"Not all that long," said Wu, moving to stand beside Misako, leaving Seamus by the door, "Just two days, in total," he sent the fire ninja a smile, "I am happy to see you are recovering quickly.

_Not quick enough._

Kai forced the thought to the back of his mind, turning to Lloyd again and directing everyone else's attention to him.

"Is he okay?" Jay asked, uncharacteristically quiet. Misako nodded.

"He was just knocked unconscious. He'll be rather sore, but it's nothing he won't be able to bounce back from."

"What's been happening while I was out?" asked Kai, tearing his eyes from his younger brother to look at the others. They shared a look with each other.

Zane was the first to speak. "We got you here as quick as we could. Just this morning, an officer had come in to tell us that Basilisk had sent us a video. It-" his voice cracked, and he came to a stop. Kai's brow furrowed in concern.

"It what?"

Nya sighed, "It was of Echo. They tortured him."

Mouth popping open, Kai's eyes widened to the size of dinner plate, "What? But he's- he's just a kid!"

"Yes," Wu muttered, face grim, "Yes, he is."

A silence came over them, Kai taking this moment to process the information he'd been given. He stared at his bandaged hands, flexing his stiff fingers and gritting his teeth against the dull ache that crawled along them.

His eyes trailed towards Zane, who was staring at the floor but not seeing it, arms crossed over his chest. He, like the others, was dressed in civilian clothes, the type they'd usually wear when they didn't want to get spotted out in public. Lloyd and himself, however, were wearing a hospital gown covered in purple polka dots.

"Where are my clothes?" Kai asked, shattering the silence. Nya winced.

"They were sort of... burnt off," she said.

"I will bring you some of your civilian clothes, Kai," said Wu, "And order you another gi."

Kai sighed, rubbing at one of his eyes, "Alright."

"How are you feeling?" asked Jay, "Do you want some pain killers? You're pretty banged up."

He considered it for a moment, but was quick to shake his head, "No, I'm fine."

They sent him disbelieving looks, but said no more. One, if not all of them, would most likely push the matter later.

A groan sounded beside him, and Kai's head snapped towards Lloyd, sitting up almost automatically, albeit only slightly. The younger ninja's eyes fluttered open slowly, his face scrunching when he was assaulted by the room's bright lighting, much like Kai had. Abruptly, the light's dimmed, and Kai glanced over at the door to see Seamus removing his hand from the switch.

Slowly, Lloyd blinked open his eyes, taking a moment for them to adjust properly. His red gaze locked with Kai's, and for a moment they just stared at each other, the green ninja looking slightly dazed. He blinked.

"Kai?"

"Hey," said Kai, "You okay?"

Lloyd blinked again, as though struggling to process the question. He raised his hand, pressing his fingers to his forehead almost as though he were mentally perplexed. After a moment, his hand dropped back to his side, he looked back to Kai and then around at all the others.

Finally, he turned to look back at the ceiling and grimaced, "Ow."

"I'll go get the doctor," Seamus said, causing most of them to jump; they'd forgotten he was there.

As the ex-slave slipped through the doorway, Kai laid himself back down, his arms having started to ache from holding him up. There was another brief moment of silence, Misako moving to sit on the end of Lloyd's bed.

The others grabbed their respected chair and dragged them closer to the makeshift double bed, settling themselves down and pulling their own blankets across their laps. Sensei Wu seated himself on the end of Kai's bed.

"What happened to you guys?" Lloyd asked, not looking away from the ceiling. Kai frowned, concern growing in his chest. The younger ninja seemed slightly off.

"I was able to make some of the vans crash," said Nya, "Burst the tiers of as many as I could before they could take off. There was..." she glanced at the floor, "A lot of blood."

"Did you guys fight them in civilian clothes?" asked Kai. Cole shook his head.

"No, we just changed once we got into the city, to avoid reporters. At least, that's what I did."

"Violet's gone."

Seven startled pairs of eyes turned to Zane, who refused to look them. Kai wondered if he'd even been listening to the conversation.

"She just..." the nindroid shook his head, "Vanished."

"Vanished?" repeated Jay, "How did she  _vanish_?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Zane, causing Kai's eyes to widen; it was very rarely that their ice brother got distressed, "She began walking around the table, the lights came back on and she was just  _gone_!"

"Why was she walking around the table?" asked Misako.

Zane shook his head, glaring at his hands, "I don't know."

"Did you scan the place?" asked Nya.

"Of course I did!" Zane snapped. Nya flinched away from him, more in surprise than anything else. Even Lloyd, who seemed to have been lost in his own thoughts, turned to look at him with startled eyes.

The shocked silence dragged on. Zane's cheeks began to tint blue, and he bowed his head to stare at his hands. Wu cleared his throat.

"Zane," he said, rising, "Come with me, please."

Zane didn't get up, awkwardly fiddling with his sleeve. Wu stopped at the door, but didn't turn to face them.

"Now."

Wincing, Zane got up and followed their sensei out the door, which closed behind them. The silence that followed was startled, and Jay and Cole shared surprised looks. Zane rarely, if ever, snapped.

"This is really getting to him," Kai said, realising just how much he'd missed out, "Who's Violet?"

"A, uh," Nya shook her head slowly, still having trouble processing what just took place, "She's with Basilisk. The police caught her and we went over to interrogate her. That's when the blackout happened."

"She must have gotten captured on purpose," said Misako, closing her eyes with a sigh, "They had planned this."

Kai turned his head to watch Lloyd. He was staring at the wall now, absentmindedly picking at the bandages on his hands- both of them, he noticed. He must have gotten burnt too.

"Injuries?" he asked, startling his siblings out of their thoughts.

"Stab wound," muttered Jay, gently pressing his thumb against his shoulder, the bandages hidden beneath his clothes, "From before."

"Lloyd burnt his hands when you were hurt," Nya recalled, "Had to rip off your clothes before you could get burnt anymore."

"Couldn't you have just hit me with some water?"

"I did," said Nya, shame coming over her features, "Eventually."

"You were shocked," said Cole, "It's not your fault."

Nya didn't answer.

"Besides a few cuts and bruises," Jay said, wrapping an arm around Nya's shoulders in silent comfort, "We're fine. Nothing we can't bounce back from."

Kai sent him a genuine smile, although at the back of his mind he was still scolding himself for not being there. He should have been there. Protecting them.

"Did 'Violet' say anything?" Kai asked. Cole shrugged.

"Not much," he admitted, "Wouldn't give us a surname. Lloyd suspects she grew up on the streets, like Morro had."

Kai's shoulders tensed at the mention of the ghost, his eyes automatically turning to Lloyd, but his younger brother made no move to show he was listening, "Why Morro?"

"He didn't have a surname either," Nya explained.

"She also said that Basilisk took Echo because they thought he was Zane," said Jay, Kai's eyes widening and his head snapping towards him.

"What? Why?"

Jay shook his head, "They weren't after him specifically. She said they would have taken any one of us, all of us if given the chance."

Kai frowned, "But why? We never even knew they existed until now."

Nya sighed, "We... we don't know."

A beat of silence. Misako broke it.

"Did she say anything else?"

"Lloyd asked her who Basilisk was," Cole recalled, "And she said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but I'll never tell a secret.' Whatever  _that_ means."

"Sticks and stone?" Kai repeated.

Cole nodded, "Yeah."

"You mean," he frowned, looking between the four of his siblings that were in the room. Lloyd turned to look at him. "Like... like Stiix?"

The silence that came upon them was startled, wide-eyed, a realisation that sent mouths agape and hearts stopping.

"Stiix," breathed Lloyd, "They hate us for what happened back with Morro, don't they?"

Cole swore, sitting back in his chair and pressing his hand to his forehead. Misako didn't even glare at him.

"Oh my god," muttered Nya, "Why didn't we realise that before?"

"We need to go tell Zane," said Jay, shooting to his feet, "We need to-"

The door opened, cutting him off. Six heads snapped towards it, watching as Seamus and a doctor came in and closed it behind them.

"Oh, hello," the doctor smiled, "You've woke up a lot earlier then we expected."


	16. Watchful

_Chapter Sixteen:_

Watchful

* * *

Zane followed his sensei down the hall, head bowed in shame. He'd immediately regretted snapping at his sister, but had been too surprised at his own words to apologise. He'd most certainly be doing it the next time he saw her.

Wu turned the handle of a door, holding it open for him. Zane didn't look at him as he obediently entered, keeping his eyes to the floor as Wu closed the door behind them. They were in an empty room, most probably an unused patient room, or one that had only recently been holding a patient. There was a bed, some equipment, but they were alone.

"I'm sorry," he said, before Wu could say anything, "I-I shouldn't have snapped at her. Them. It's my fault."

Wu didn't say anything, but Zane didn't raise his head. His hand twitched at his side, and he curled it into an agitated fist. Had he been human, he would have broken into a light sweat.

Finally, he heard footsteps, making their way towards him. He clenched his eyes shut, shoulders tensing, almost expecting to be whacked over the head with a staff.

Instead, a wrinkled hand firmly took his chin, forcing him to look into their owner's eyes. Zane expected them to be stern and scolding, but to his surprise, they were shining with concern.

"You're hurt," Wu said.

Zane blinked, mentally scanning himself. He was completely unharmed. He hadn't even gone out to help stop the kidnappings, nor had he recently been in any sort of battle. He gave his sensei a confused frown.

"Master, I am unharmed," he said, "I am in fully working order."

Wu shook his head, "No, Zane. Mentally. Spiritually." he raised his other hand, placing it over his pupil's power source, "You're hurt inside."

"I'm fine," the answer was almost terrifyingly automatic.

"Talk to your brothers," said Wu. It was more of an order than a suggestion. "Or your sister. Misako or I, if you prefer. Don't keep it inside, Zane," his hands moved away to clutch firmly at his shoulder, "Otherwise you'll freeze."

Zane's throat became tight, as though a lump had formed in it. Silently, he nodded.

Wu gave a single nod, pulling away, "Good. None of this is your fault, Zane."

"Yes, it is," muttered Zane, bowing his head, "Everything is. I have a six sense; I should have sensed it."

"But you didn't, and you cannot help that," Wu replied, taking a small step closer, "You can't blame yourself for the things you can't control. After Garmadon was bitten, I blamed myself for a long time," he sighed, shaking his head slowly, "I still do, at times. But blaming yourself will not bring Echo home. It will not erase everything that has happened."

When Zane didn't answer, Wu gently took his chin in hand again, tilting his head up so that he was forced to look at him, "Do you understand?"

For a moment, Zane stared at him. Then, slowly, his eyes fluttered shut and he sighed, "Yes, sensei."

Wu smiled a sad smile, then pulled his pupil into a hug.

* * *

The doctor- who introduced himself as Dr. Roberts- took their vitals, doing an almost routine check-up. Lloyd was mostly silent, watching as the doctor attended to his fiery brother, giving him a dose of pain killers when it became clear he was in a lot more pain than he was letting on.

Jay and Cole had left to go in search of Zane and Wu, but were yet to return. They could be anywhere in the building, after all, and it was unlikely that they would be found unless they wanted to be.

Lloyd's head was a steady pound against his skull. He didn't dare sit up, knowing that it would probably only make things worse. He was registering things a lot slower than he liked, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe he should get some coffee.

"You're recovering surprisingly fast, Mr. Smith," said Dr. Roberts, writing something down on his clipboard, "At this rate, you'll be your old self by next year. A remarkable feat."

"Next  _year_?" gasped Nya. Dr. Roberts gave her a reassuring smile.

"Injuries like this usually take at least three years of physical therapy," he shrugged, "His quick recovery most probably has something to do with him being so healthy."

"Does that mean he can come home soon?" asked Misako. Dr. Roberts hesitated, then nodded.

"Yes, but he won't be allowed to do any extreme physical activity."

Kai's mouth twisted downwards in displeasure. Lloyd almost smiled.

"Now," said Dr. Roberts, tucking his clipboard under his arm and turning to Lloyd, "I'm just going to-"

Before he could finish, the door opened, a woman sticking her head through. Her eyes lingered on Kai and Lloyd, but were quick to snap to the doctor.

"Sir, we've got a problem," she said, "In Ward six."

Dr. Roberts frowned, placing his clipboard on one of the counters, "Ward six? What's happened?"

"One of the patients need to go into emergency surgery," said the woman, " _Now_."

The doctor looked from the woman to the Ninja, before muttering a quick apology and rushing out of the room, after the woman. They watched him go with surprised eyes, Misako and Nya sharing a concerned look.

"How are you feeling, Lloyd?" Kai asked, shattering the silence. Lloyd blinked, taking a moment to register the question.

"Oh, uh..." he rubbed at his head in an attempt to dull the fuzziness currently clouding his brain, "I'm okay. Just sore."

"Would you like some painkillers?" asked Nya, repeating the question earlier directed to Kai. Lloyd shook his head, but quickly stopped when that made his brain hurt even more.

"No, thanks," he sent her a reassuring smile, "It's only a few bruises."

"You got shot," Kai deadpanned. Lloyd blinked slowly, eyes trailing down to his heavily bandaged hands.

"It's not that bad."

Kai's eyes narrowed, he opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened before he could. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

"We've found them," declared Cole, Zane and Wu looking in over his shoulder, "We better get going."

Nya rose to her feet. Lloyd braced himself, then pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring how his vision swam. A hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, and he looked up to meet the stern face of his mother.

"Lloyd, you're staying here."

"Mum, I'm fine," Lloyd insisted, "You've seen what these guys can do, and Kai's already out. We've gotta go in with as many as possible."

"I do not like to admit it, Misako," said Wu, slipping past his students to stand next to a rather annoyed looking Kai, "But Lloyd is right."

"Wu, you can't be serious," Misako said, looking just as surprised as Lloyd was.

"If Lloyd says he is fine," Wu sighed, "He is fine."

Lloyd turned to look at his mother. After a moment, she sighed, rubbing at her eyes beneath her glasses. "Yeah," she muttered, "Okay."

A smile spread on Lloyd's lips, and he forced himself to his feet, "I'll be fine, mom."

Misako sent him another stern glare, "You better be."

Cole hesitated, but then he sighed, gesturing for Lloyd to hurry, "Alright, alright, let's go. You can get changed in the bathroom."

"Wow, wait," said Kai, attempting to sit up but quickly flopping back down with a grunt. Wu sent him a concerned look. "What about me?"

" _You're_  staying here," Misako said, crossing her arms, "You can hardly stand."

"But-"

"Don't fight her, Kai," said Wu, "Lloyd is one thing, but you are another."

"We'll bring you back a souvenir," Nya promised, moving to hug her brother, mindful of his injuries, "Get better soon."

Kai sighed, returning the hug weakly. He looked like he was about to fall asleep then and there. "Alright. Alright, fine."

"C'mon, Lloyd," said Jay, guiding him towards the door, "The doctors cleaned up your gi while you were out."

* * *

 _The liquid coating his front was ruby red. It smelled and tasted of copper, laced in his gears and cogs like stained water. Echo wasn't sure what it was. It had come bubbling out of the_ pirate's _throat, who now lay at his feet. Unmoving. Drowning in ruby red._

_It was going to be hard, most likely, to repair him when he's producing liquid._

"How many did you get?"

Two heads snapped towards the end of the corridor. They couldn't see anything, for this particular hall had no torches. Then the light of a lantern light up the walls at the very end.

"'Bout fifty," said a second voice. The two guards came into view, covered in black rags everywhere apart from their faces, their hoods dangling across their chests. Purple tattoos covered their faces, much like the two that had brought Echo in. His heart clenched.

Beside to him, Kaze muttered a swear word, hurriedly dragging him around the corner. They pressed their backs against the rough, damp walls. The footsteps came closer.

"I got sixty."

"You did not!"

"Sure did. Little beasties were too stupid, anyhow."

"Well, that's different then. I was kidnapping people, you were capturing animals. Completely different."

"I still got more."

They turned the corner, and Kaze and Echo shrank into the shadows. They would not be able to run, they wouldn't have been able to even if Echo didn't have to lean on Kaze to stand upright. Their only chance was to hide.

The guards passed them. One slowly came to a stop, only a few steps away from where he and Kaze crouched in the shadows, legs shaking. The other walked on for a moment, before becoming aware that his friend had stopped and coming to a halt himself.

"What is it?" he asked.

Slowly, his friend shook his head, his brow furrowed in apparent confusion, "I... I'm not sure."

Now the other man was frowning, moving to stand in front of his friend, "Is this because I got more than you?" his eyes became suspicious, "I swear, Gavin, if you jump at me again-"

"That's not it," Gavin cut him off, "Vic, I think we're being watched."

A silence came across them. Echo's heart began to tick, louder and louder in his ears. Breath hitching, he covered it with his twisted hand, Kaze's covering it as well in a desperate attempt to keep it silent.

Gavin and Vic stood there for a long moment, eyes darting about the shadows. Gavin's slowly turned to the abyss that was the ceiling, before he slowly shook his head.

"Never mind. I think it was just me."

Vic seemed to relax, if only a little. He gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. At this rate, you'll be as paranoid as Soren."

Echo's breath hitched in his throat, terror gripping at his chest. Kaze's grip on him tightened to the point where it was almost painful.

A shiver wracked Gavin's spine, "Ugh. That guy gives me the creeps."

"I feel you, pal."

They began to walk away, taking the light with them and once again leaving the two prisoners in complete darkness. It was only once they were out of sight that Echo let out a long breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding.

"We must be getting somewhere," muttered Kaze, "Anywhere will be better than these blasted corridors."

Silently, Echo agreed.

They struggled to their feet again, knees shaking and calfs aching. Arm once again wrapped around Kaze's shoulders, Echo stumbled along beside him, keeping his head bowed to watch his steps so he wouldn't trip. But, unlike the last few times, there was an alertness in their bodies, in their tensed shoulders and darting eyes.

Echo could almost feel it radiating off of Kaze. He could almost sense it radiating off himself as well. Gavin's words echoed throughout his skull, bouncing off the insides of his artificial mind. He knew that the most logical explanation had been he'd felt his and Kaze's stares.

But now that it had been said aloud, Echo began to realise that he felt it too. Had always felt it. It was a sensation that tingled along his skin, wracking up his spine like a cold shiver, boring into his skull like invisible spikes. Much like Gavin had not moments before, Echo raised his head and looked into the abyss of a ceiling.

_I think we're being watched._


	17. Timer

_Chapter Seventeen:_

Timer

* * *

Nya didn't like how things were going.

Her dragon skimmed across the sky, water swirling in its core, little droplets flying backwards every now and then. Seamus sat perched behind Zane, holding onto the nindroid for dear life. He looked liked he was freezing, which probably meant Zane wasn't in complete control of his emotions. She didn't blame him.

Even with Seamus with them, Nya's gut churned in agitation. She didn't like going into this without Kai, and she was sure the others would agree with her. But her brother could hardly sit up. If he had come with them- and she hated to admit this- he'd more than likely slow them down.

Nya shook her head, turning her attention to Lloyd. He'd struggled for almost a full minute to form his dragon. She wasn't certain he was as fine as he said he was.

She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about this.

She couldn't afford to be scared.

* * *

They landed a mile away from Stiix, dragons deforming and returning to their owner's cores. Lloyd stumbled, head pounding and vision swimming, bile rising in the back of his throat. He pushed it down, ignored the concerned looks shot his way, and began to walk.

As they got closer to Stiix, it began to get colder. It got so cold that they began to shiver, wrapping their jackets tighter around themselves. There was crunching underfoot, and when Lloyd looked down he was startled to find snow all over the grass.

"Snow?" said Nya, "Why is there snow?"

"Stiix must have really long winters," muttered Jay.

They'd put civilian clothes on over their gi, and Lloyd pulled his hat lower over his head to hide his face, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. Stiix's main bridge loomed before them, workers hammering away at the boards. The water was laced with a thin layer of ice, frost swirling in it, and some parts looked thich enough to stand on. The bridge, snow having been swept off it and into the lake, was much more repaired than the last time they'd visited- or did that count? It was in a different timeline after all.

Lloyd's head hammered. Those confusing thoughts were quickly pushed away.

"It shouldn't be snowing," said Zane, frowning, "Stiix doesn't usually have winters that last this long."

"Great, a freak snow storm," Cole muttered, "Just what we need."

Some people glanced at them, but soon returned to their repairs. A lot of them were barefoot, toes blue from the cold, clothes shredded and damp, skin filthy from sleeping on the streets. Lloyd felt a pang in his chest. They had a point to hate them, he supposed.

"Let's split up," whispered Cole, not looking at them, "Text us if you find anything."

"What are we even looking for?" asked Jay, seemingly hesitant with the idea. Cole shrugged.

"Anything suspicious."

Reluctantly, the went their sperate ways. Lloyd kept his phone on hand in case they found anything, or something went wrong and they needed help. They didn't want to reveal they were the Ninja until absolutely necessary.

Many people looked his way, suspicious of the stranger making their way through their destroyed down. Children were ushered away as he approached, and people avoided him as though he were the plague. He was either ignored or avoided. Lloyd wasn't sure which one he preferred.

His phone buzzed and he switched it on, immediately regretting it as the screen lit up and assaulted his eyes, sending his brain into one of the worst headaches he'd ever experienced. Lloyd gasped, swaying on his feet, automatically raising a hand to press his fingers to his forehead as though it would send the pain scurrying away.

He stood there for a long moment, swaying on his feet, fingers to his forehead, eyes clenched shut. He took deep, steadying breaths and, ever so slowly, the pain was reduced to a dull throb above his left eye.

Lloyd opened his eyes slowly, squinting down at his phone, wincing as his head began to pound again. It took him a moment to read what it said.

 **Cole**   _F_ _ind anything?_

**Nya** _Not yet. Jay?_

He had to look away again, temple throbbing. He stood with his eyes closed again, before forcing himself to return to the screen as his notifications buzzed.

 **Jay**   _Nothing._

 **Zane**   _Neither have Seamus and I. What about you, Lloyd?_

Lloyd shook his head, massaging his temples. There was a pounding pain behind his eyes, and dread began to settle in his stomach when he realised he'd have to answer. His phone buzzed again.

 **Zane**   _Lloyd?_

Muttering a quiet swear, and receiving a glare from a nearby woman, he braced himself and began to type. It took him nearly five minutes to respond, and he had to turn away every few seconds because of the pain in his head. Blindly, he pressed send.

 **Lloyd**   _I've got nothing._

 **Jay**   _Why'd it take you so long to answer?_

Deciding that it wasn't worth typing another response, Lloyd switched off the screen and leant against one of the half-built buildings that wasn't under construction, grimacing as frost soaked the back of his jacket. He had to stand there for a long moment, eyes closed, before the pain in his head had reduced enough for him to think properly.

He tucked his phone into his pants pocket and began to walk, looking around in search of anything that could be linked to Basilisk, hands buried deep in his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm. But the town was just as gloomy, wet and destroyed as the last time (did that count? Nevermind, his head was too sore for that) they'd visited. The only real difference was that it was half destroyed and covered in snow.

He wondered if it had anything to do with Zane.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two people, clothes so ragged that he wasn't sure they'd ever been clothes in the first. He came to a stop, pretending to inspect one of the buildings under current construction, watching as the two slipped away into an abandoned pub and out of sight.

Brow furrowing, he made his way over to it. He pressed his back against the partly demolished wall and peeked through one of the many holes. But the two were gone, as though they had never been there in the first place.

Attention officially captured, Lloyd slipped into the pub, snow and glass crunching beneath his shoes. Broken beams were spread across the floor; holes in the floor led straight to the water; there was hardly anything resembling a proper wall; the roof was a mess of jagged splinters; parts had caved in from the weight of the snow. He made a mental note to send Stiix help.

But that would have to wait.

Glass, snow and chunks of concrete crunched beneath his feet as he walked further into the pub. There were signs of people walking about, he could tell that even with his pounding head. The glass and concrete were broken in certain places, forming an almost distinguishable footstep to the eye that knew of its existence, and the snow was crushed and squelched to form undistinguishable tracks.

Lloyd checked behind the counter- the only thing in the entire pub that was in any way intact- but the two people he'd seen entering were nowhere in sight. The only thing there was an abandoned tool box, have buried in snow.

He leant against the counter on one of the few dry spots, careful to not cut himself on the glass. Raising his hand, he squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying in vain to chase away a migraine looming around the corner. Where had they gone? They'd been right there.

"Lloyd!"

He jumped, leaping away from the counter, green energy sparking to life between his fingers. Jay jumped down from the roof, landing a few meters in front of his startled friend, a look of relief dancing on his face.

"Jay?" said Lloyd, shoulders relaxing. He clenched his fists, squelching the green energy out of existence, "What are you doing here? We were supposed to split up."

"We'd thought something happened to you," Jay explained, moving to stand in front of his brother, "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Lloyd blinked, pulling out his phone and turning it on, wincing at the light. Seven missed calls, five from each of his siblings. How hadn't he noticed? This wasn't like him.

"I... I didn't realise," he rubbed at his head, putting his phone away perhaps just a little too quickly, "Sorry."

Jay frowned at him, concerned, "Are you sure you're okay, Lloyd? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Jay," he sent him a smile that seemed forced even to his own lips, "Really."

Jay sent him a sceptical look, obviously far from convinced. Instead of persisting, however, he pulled up his own phone and began to text the others.

"What're you telling them?" Lloyd asked, trying and failing to come off as casual. Jay sent him a look, but answered anyway.

"That I've found you. You scared us half to death, pal," he lowered his phone, turning his full attention to his younger brother, brow furrowed, "We'd thought Basilisk had gotten you."

Guilt clawed at Lloyd's gut, reaching up with a hideous hand and squeezing all the blood out of his heart. He wasn't sure what to say, so he turned his eyes to the glass and concrete decorated floor, Jay returning to his phone.

"I saw two people come in here," Lloyd said, finally breaking the silence, "But they were gone when I arrived."

Jay turned his attention back to Lloyd, interest now perked. He looked around, properly taking in the room for the first time, "There's diffidently signs of people walking about. It wasn't you?"

Lloyd shook his head, but was quick to stop when it sent pain flaring up his temple, "No."

"We better not be dealing with more ghosts," muttered Jay, Lloyd cracking a small smile at the statement, "I wonder if-"

"There you two are."

They turned to face the front entrance, where Nya, Cole, Zane and Seamus were slipping through, Nya having spoken. Lloyd's face heated up.

"What happened to splitting up?"

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" asked Cole, ignoring the question, "We'd thought something happened!"

"I just spotted some guys coming in here, so I followed them," said Lloyd, head starting to throb again, "But they've-"

Metal arms wrapped around him, pulling him against a titanium chest. Lloyd stiffened, surprised. He stood stock still for a long moment, before slowly returning the sudden him, still rather startled.

"Zane?" Jay said, "Are you okay?"

Zane didn't answer. He gave Lloyd one last squeeze, before pulling away, leaving the green ninja standing there a tad awkwardly.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Zane, sending him a strained smile, "I'm just... glad you're okay."

Something like realisation churned in Cole's eyes, and he swung a casual arm around the nindroid's shoulders, "Everything will turn out alright. So," he turned back to Lloyd, "You said you saw some people coming in here? Where'd they go?"

Lloyd shrugged, "Not a clue."

"PIXAL," said Zane, "Scan the place."

There was a short buzzing sound, then a tiny ding,  _"Scan complete,"_  came PIXAL's voice,  _"There's no one else here."_

A hand was laid on his shoulder, and Lloyd turned to see Nya, a light frown creasing her forehead.

"Lloyd," she said, hesitantly, "Are you certain you saw someone?"

"What?" said Lloyd, "Of course I'm certain."

Nya shared a look with the others, but they said no more. Lloyd looked from her to Cole to Jay to Zane, his heart slowly plummeting to his stomach. He was being abruptly reminded of when he was little.

"What makes you think I didn't see anyone?" he asked, struggling to push away his annoyance. His head felt like it was close to exploding.

Cole shook his head, "We're just making sure, bud."

"Yeah," said Jay, leaning against the wall, "I mean, you did just-" He gasped, falling backwards as the part of the wall he'd been leaning against caved in, looking dangerously close to collapsing but somehow holding firm.

Jay hastily pushed himself away from the wall, almost tripping over a fallen beam. There was the sound of stone grinding against stone, wood creaking and gears turning. Six heads snapped towards the far wall, as the bottom half slid open to reveal the darkest, most narrow staircase Lloyd had ever seen.

The silence that followed was startling. Zane's mouth opened and closed in speechless shock.

Ignoring the pounding in his ears, Lloyd sent his brothers and sister a pointed look.

"I told you so."

* * *

The sensation of being watched followed Echo for what seemed to be hours- but it was, of course, impossible to tell. He may have been clockwork, but he wasn't a clock.

He considered pointing it out to Kaze, but decided against it. He was probably just being paranoid. Or maybe Soren messed with his brain. Could he have done that? Could he have permanently damaged him? The thought sent his heart ticking, loud enough that Kaze sent him a concerned glance.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice a whisper. Now that they knew they weren't the only ones in the corridors, they'd adopted the habit, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Echo whispered back. His throat clogged. "Kaze, I wanna go home."

A quiet sigh, "Yeah," Kaze muttered, "Yeah, me too."

They fell into silence. Kept walking. One foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right. Echo wasn't sure how long they'd be able to keep this up. Was this it? Was this what they'd been sentenced to? An eternity of just wandering, bodies churning with pain, down empty corridors in an impossible darkness?

Did he deserve this? He wasn't sure.

Maybe he did.

"Do you have a family, Kaze?" asked Echo, if only to break away from his terrible thoughts. Kaze hesitated for a long moment.

"I... do," he said, still appearing hesitant, "But..."

Kaze's steps slowed, but he didn't come to a complete stop. Echo looked at him expectantly.

"I hurt him," Kaze said, his voice so low that Echo almost didn't catch it, "Badly."

"Oh." He wasn't sure what else to say. He glanced at his feet. "But you still love him?"

Kaze was silent. They came to a stop at the corner. A long moment passed, with Kaze staring down at the floor. Finally, he spoke, voice still hardly audible even in the silence of the corridors.

"Yes."

A light abruptly shone on them, and their heads snapped down the corridor. A figure, unseeable, shouted something in a language Echo didn't understand, and was joined by four others.

"Oh no," Kaze said, backing away and dragging Echo with him.

"Kaze?" he said. There was the pounding of feet, more yelling, the light getting brighter and brighter as they got closer and closer, "Kaze?"

"Run."

"What?"

Kaze hoisted him up, although he was too weak to carry him properly, "Run!"

They spun around and began to run- left, right, left, right, in a never ending cycle of agony and stumbling and near misses. The pounding of feet behind them never vanished nor dulled, nor did the shouting, and Echo's ticked and tocked in his ears, leaving his head a muddled mess of confusion and terror and  _he just wanted to go home._

They rounded the corner, coming dangerously close to falling over. Don't stop. Can't stop. He wanted to collapse. His leg was a white hot rod that had been thrown into a blazing volcano. The ticking was so loud, so frequent, he couldn't decipher one tick from another.

Like a bomb running out of time.


	18. Indeep

_Chapter Eighteen:_

Indeep

* * *

Kai wasn't entirely sure how, but Wu and Misako were able to convince the doctors to let him return to the Bounty. At this point, he wasn't sure he really cared. Anything to get out of the damn hospital bed was good enough for him.

Misako returned with his clothes- a red shirt, a pair of jeans, and trainers- shortly after he'd been cleared. He needed Wu's help to get them on.

After a warning from one of the doctors- not Dr Roberts, Kai had not idea where he'd gone off to- and a promise that he wouldn't strain himself, Kai was put in a wheelchair and taken back to the Bounty. All the reporters had gone out to report the events of the Blackout, although there were still quite a few in front of the hospital, since it was where people's lives had been in jeopardy the most. They took the back exit.

What with his pain meds, Kai wasn't certain if the trip to the Bounty was long, short or even difficult. All he could remember was being put into the back of a car, maybe falling asleep, and then he was being wheeled into the Bounty's living room, laid down on the couch and suddenly had his favourite red blanket tucked around him.

For the next few hours (he assumed it was hours, at least. It could have been minutes for all he knew), Kai drifted in and out of sleep. Sometimes, Wu or Misako or both of them would be in the living room with him, other times he'd be alone. The TV was turned on at some point, and he'd watch it without really understanding what was happening, much like one would do when they were very young, before slipping back into sleep.

When Kai awoke again, he was aware enough to realise that, outside the window, the sky was a mix of pink and orange. Sunset. How long had he been asleep?

"Oh, good, you're awake."

He turned his head, spotting Misako making her way over with a steaming bowl in hand. She sat down next to him, helping him sit up properly before handing him the bowl. Chicken noodle soup. Kai didn't really like soup, but he was hungry, so whatever.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked, carefully sipping at the soup on his spoon. Misako glanced at her watch.

"Most of the day," she said, "We left the hospital at two in the afternoon. It's six now, so you've been in and out for around five hours."

Kai nodded, swallowing his soup and quickly refilling his spoon, "Anything from the others?"

"Wu got a message from Cole saying they'd found some kind of underground base," Misako explained, "In a demolished pub or something. That was fifteen minutes ago."

The ninja nodded silently, mouth twisting downwards. He should be out there with them, helping, not sitting on his butt eating soup. The sensation of being useless was not one Kai often found himself experiencing, but when he did he was far from fond of it.

His thoughts must have shown on his face, for Misako sent him a look, "You helped by pointing out they were in Stiix," she said, "None of us realised that until now."

Kai shook his head, "I should be out there with them."

"Kai, you're hurt," Misako pointed out, "You can hardly stand. Anything you would have done would have probably only slowed them down."

He scowled at the soup in his lap, jaw clenching. The painkillers must have been starting to dull, because the burning sensation across his skin was returning, like a thousand little termites with lava for legs crawling over his skin.

"It's not your fault, Kai," said Misako. She nudged his hand towards the spoon. "Now eat up before I start force feeding you."

He sent her a small smile, which felt slightly awkward and stiff with his burnt skin, and returned to his soup. But the feeling didn't pass, staying with him long after the bowl had been emptied and taken back into the kitchen.

Misako returned with a syringe and a bottle of meds, filling it with the medical liquid. The feeling, the sensation, the aurora of uselessness with just a dash of self-pity stayed with Kai as Misako injected him with the pain killers, and didn't go away until he began to dose again.

He lay there, silently watching the cartoon that had come on the TV. Misako sat next to him, a book open in her lap, but even in his half-conscious state Kai could see the way her eyes were unseeing, glazed, trapped deep in her own thoughts.

He wondered what she was thinking.

He wondered if someone was going to die.

He wondered if they were already dead.

* * *

Breathing. Panting. He couldn't breathe. He wanted to collapse. Stop and rest. Just fall over and  _die_. Again. Again. Why couldn't he have just stayed dead?

His legs shook. His hands, dirt and slippy from sweat and grime and having not been washed in who knows how long, slipped and slid across Echo's metallic side as he struggled to keep a hold of the bot. Sweat beaded his forehead, falling into his eyes, his greasy hair sticking to his face.

They turned another corner. A door. A door, hidden in the shadows, hardly noticeable. How come they hadn't noticed it before? Had it always been there? Had they even been down this corridor?

A whimper. Beside him. Scared, in pain. As though he were about to cry.

He would have said something comforting, but everything was going too fast. The footsteps behind them were closing in. Shouting, shouting, so loud in the echoes of the corridor. There were no torches in this hall.

He lunged for the door, dragging Echo with him. Slammed against it, sending startling pain up his side. Blind, confused, he fiddled for the handle, his fingers closing around its ice cold surface. He twisted it. It didn't budge. Stuck. Jammed.

Locked.

He swore- wasn't even sure which word he used, he just knew he did- and rammed his shoulder against the wood. Maybe it would cave in, maybe the lock would jiggle out of place. Dread curled in his stomach. Desperation.

"K-Kaze!"

A rough hand wrapped around his upper arm. He spun around, blind, not thinking, raising the arm that wasn't holding up Echo. His fist rammed right into the guard's face, sending them falling to the ground in a spray of blood and teeth. A wind blew his hair out of his face, then vanished just as suddenly as it appeared.

A click. The door opened.

He pushed them through forcefully, slamming the door behind them before the guards could even register that it had been opened. He shoved the lock back into place and turned around.

It was a tiny room, leading off into the darkest tunnel he'd ever seen. There was a crate next to the tunnel entrance, and a lit lantern on the floor next to it. In front of him, staring with startled eyes, was a boy. Young, early twenties perhaps. Skin decorated with purple tattoos.

They stared at each other, Echo and himself struggling the catch their breath. The guards on the other side of the door pounded and slammed against it, shouting things he couldn't decipher. Echo inched closer to him.

Then, to his surprise, the boy's eyes filled with tears. He turned to look at Echo, then to the door, before stepping aside and sitting down on the crate.

"The tunnel's an emergency exit," he said, no longer looking at them, his voice cracking and hoarse, "It'll take you out."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" he asked, glaring at the boy in immediate suspicion. Behind him, the door buckled.

"You don't," the boy said simply, turning to them with eyes that suddenly seemed dead. He'd seen that look before. Had worn it himself. "But you don't have much of a choice, now do you?"

Echo let out a small sob, as the guards rammed themselves into the door. The boy was right. He wasn't sure what he should say. Why wasn't he stopping them from escaping?

He decided not to say anything. Pulled Echo tighter against him. His legs shook beneath him. He wanted to desperately to sit down. To sleep.

They limped into the tunnel.

Chope watched them go.

* * *

The staircase was steep, long, dark and narrow. If it weren't for the green light swirling between Lloyd's fingers, they wouldn't have been able to see a thing. Jay felt a pang in his chest. If only Kai were with them.

But even with the light, Jay found himself tripping on the uneven steps and almost tumbling down into the others. The staircase was so narrow that they had to go down one at a time, Cole in the front, Seamus behind him, then Lloyd, Jay, Zane and finally Nya taking up the rear.

Jay slipped on a wet patch, accidentally kicking Lloyd in the shin, his hand latching onto a random, cold, wet groove in the wall, heart leaping into his throat in surprise. Lloyd gasped, knees buckling, and would have sent Cole and Seamus tumbling down the rest of the stairs with him if the ex-slave hadn't spun around and grabbed him around the waist with surprising speed, almost hoisting him over his shoulder.

"What happened?" Nya called, peeking around Zane, "Is everything okay?"

"My bad!" Jay yelped, his voice bouncing off the walls, scrambling to his feet as Seamus sat Lloyd back down, "Crap, are you okay, Lloyd?"

Lloyd grimaced, as though he'd just screamed in his ear, but nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Be careful, Jay," said Cole, "I'd rather not fall down these stairs."

Jay sent him a sheepish smile, "Yeah, sorry."

They kept walking, Jay keeping his hand on the wall in an attempt to help stop himself from falling. The walls were wet and rough, which either meant this entire place was natural (to an extent, considering the staircase) or it had just been very badly made. The latter was plausible, seeing as how they wore rags.

They walked on in silence. Jay wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it felt like forever by the time they reached the bottom. There were two torches, one on the left wall and one on the right, directly next to the staircase. Lloyd extinguished his green ball.

They weren't in a room like Jay had expected them to enter. They were at some kind of crossroad, three corridors branching off from where they stood. There were no signs. The corridors led way into darkness.

"Three halls," muttered Nya, "Any idea which one we should take?"

Zane's eyes began to glow slightly, then dulled back to their usual brightness.

 _"I cannot tell where the corridors lead,"_  said PIXAL,  _"But it's a labyrinth."_

"A labyrinth?" repeated Cole. Seamus nodded, a small frown on his brow.

"Yes," he muttered, voice loud in the silence, "This... This is it."

Jay shot him a concerned look, beginning to wonder if it had really been a good idea to bring him along. Now that he thought about it, he probably had some form of PTSD. For all they knew, being here could send him into a panic attack- make him forget what was happening, who they were, take him back to the desperate escape that had only led to the death of his family. He decided to keep an eye on him.

"Okay," said Zane, a tad impatiently, "Where can we find Echo?"

Seamus took a moment to think, stroking his chin as he looked from one corridor to the next, "He  _should_  be in the conjoining cells," he said finally, "That's also most probably where all those people who were kidnapped were taken to."

"Conjoining cells," repeated Jay, nodding. He looked left, right, forwards and then to Seamus, "Where is that, exactly?"

Seamus rubbed the back of his dark hair, "This is a labyrinth," he said, "One I didn't escape from."

"So you don't know?" asked Nya. Grimly, Seamus shook his head.

"Sorry."

Zane sighed, "We'll just have to improvise."

"I say we go left," Jay announced, "In mazes, you always stick to the left."

"What?" Nya frowned at him, "No, it's always forwards."

"No," Cole butted in, "It's always right. You know, 'cause right is right?"

"That makes no sense!" argued Jay, voice rising. It bounced off the walls in the most deafening echo they'd ever heard, assaulting their ears and piercing their skulls. Jay gasped, clapping his hands over his ears and clenching his eyes shut.

Slowly, it died down, and he hesitantly peeked open an eye. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, he removed his hands, sending his friends a sheepish grin when they glared at him.

"Lloyd?"

Jay's smile fell, eyes widening as he spotted their younger brother on his knees, clutching at his ears with trembling hands. His teeth were gritted in pain, and even with his eyes clenched shut they could tell they were watering.

Zane, the one who had spoken, knelt down beside the green ninja, placing a shiny hand on his back. "Lloyd?" he repeated, "Lloyd, are you alright?"

Lloyd took in a shaky breath, nodding only slightly. Zane shared a concerned look with Cole.

"Maybe you should lie down," Cole suggested.

"N-No," Lloyd stuttered, eyes still shut, "No, I-I'm fine."

Jay wasn't sure what to do. His legs were frozen in place. A long moment passed, and then, finally, Lloyd's hands fell to his side. Eyes still shut, he pushed himself to his feet, and would have fallen over had Zane not grabbed his arm.

Once he was steadied, Lloyd placed a hand on his head, opening his eyes and blinking slowly, wincing as though he was being assaulted by a harsh light. Zane let go hesitantly, hands still hovering in front of him as though Lloyd were about to go toppling over.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. Still rubbing his head, Lloyd looked from Zane to Cole, Nya, Seamus and then finally Jay, who remained frozen. Giving a small sigh, appearing almost angry, Lloyd turned and marched down a random hall- right.

Jay licked his lips, his mouth abruptly dry. He looked at Cole, who was looking at Lloyd's retreating form with a worried look on his face. Sensing his gaze, he turned to face Jay, his mouth twisting downwards and eyes shining with what could only be the same concern Jay himself felt, although, for the blue ninja at least, guilt was being mixed in as well.

Silently, he began to follow after Lloyd. The others did the same.


	19. Drowning

_Chapter Nineteen:_

Drowning

* * *

The tunnels varied in size. There were no parts that branched off in different directions, but at times the roof was so low that they had to duck, or the walls so close together that they had to go through sideways. It was dark, too. Somehow, impossibly, darker than the corridors had been.

They walked for a long time. Limped, really. Felt the walls with blind fingers, stumbled over rocks and potholes. Echo's heart ticked in his ears. It was the only audible noise, apart from their laboured breathing and the constant dripping of water.

Abruptly, Kaze came to a stop, and Echo stumbled right into him, almost causing them to fall over. He kept his balance by pure chance, hand latching onto a rock jutting out of the wall and dislodging it, leaving it to shatter on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked, desperately trying to keep his raspy voice low.

"Crap," muttered Kaze, voice a hushed whisper, terror rising in his tone, "Oh crap, oh crap, oh _crap_."

"Kaze?" said Echo, fear causing his heart to tick faster, "What- What's wrong?"

"It's ended," Kaze said, "Dammit, it's a  _deadend_."

"W-What?" Echo stuttered, his hands starting to tremble, a lump forming in his throat, "B-But... he- he said this was the way out."

In answer, Kaze yelled a swear word, causing Echo to flinch violently. Kaze's leg lashed out in a fit of rage to kick the wall- only to go right through.

He gasped, almost falling over backwards, and quickly brought back his leg. There was a short silence, Echo staring at the direction he knew Kaze was in (it was so dark they couldn't even see each other), frozen in place.

Then, so suddenly that he gasped, Kaze crouched down, forcing Echo with him. He heard Kaze rummaging around the floor, pushing away the fragments of the rock that had been lodged out of place. There was stillness, then a brief silence.

"It's just low," said Kaze. He gave a small, relieved laugh. "We can squeeze through."

Echo let out a long breath, a pained smile tugging at his lips. Kaze shifted, unconsciously pulling Echo closer to his side.

"Think you can crawl under?" he asked. Echo licked his lips, nodding. Then, realising Kaze couldn't see him, spoke.

"Yeah. I've got this."

He couldn't see it, but he was sure Kaze was smiling. He patted him on the back. "Okay, good. I'll go first, okay? Don't follow until I tell you to."

Silently, Echo nodded, stopping not a moment later when he realised- once again- that Kaze couldn't see him. He squeezed him on the shoulder, then his touch vanished. Echo could hear him scrambling against the ground, then squeezing through the gap, shoes scraping against the rough rock that was the floor.

Wincing, Echo shifted, putting all of his weight on his non-injured leg and toppling over onto his side. He pushed himself up on his elbows, listening as Kaze continued to crawl away. Suddenly nervous, he glanced over his shoulder, as though he could actually see what was behind him.

There was another moment of silence. Then Kaze's voice drifted through.

"I'm out on the other side," he said, "It's not that long. Come on, your turn."

"Okay," said Echo, more to himself than Kaze. He took a deep breath, then began to crawl on his hands and knees, wincing as he banged his head on the low ceiling (if it could even be called that). Forced to go down on his stomach, Echo dragged himself along the ground, a pained whimper escaping his lips as pain shot up his front.

"You're almost there."

Echo clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth against the pain, hands scrambling along the dirt and rocks. His head emerged into slightly less stuffy air, soon followed by his shoulders and torso. Hands gripped him under the armpits, helping to pull him out quicker. Agony shot up his front, a pained cry passing his lips.

"Are you okay?" Kaze asked, once he'd been freed, the droid panting in his arms. Echo's answer was a quiet whimper.

Fingers, cold and dirty, trailed along his front, gently brushing over jutting bumps and twisted parts, searching for an open wound or anything dangerous.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My-" Echo grimaced, "My front."

"Your entire front?"

"Y-Yeah."

There was a silence, Kaze still gently running his hand up and down Echo's chest and stomach in search of anything critically wrong. He sighed. "It's too dark to see anything properly," he said, "Think you can keep going?"

Echo took a steadying breath, "We-We can keep going."

"Alright," said Kaze, "Tell me if it gets any worse."

Echo returned his arm around Kaze's shoulders, the tunnel now wide enough for them to walk side by side, and began to limp further down. His heart continued its steady rhythm of nervous ticks.

In an attempt to get some idea of his surroundings, Echo reached out slowly with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Kaze, fingers grazing the rough rock of the wall, closer than Echo had expected. Water dripped off the wall and onto his fingers, trailing down his hands and up his arms. It reminded him of Nya.

Then, abruptly, the wall vanished. Echo stepped into something cold and wet reaching right up to his knees, and Kaze came to a halt, muscles stiffening and breath catching in his throat.

"This is a deep puddle," Echo muttered. When Kaze didn't answer, he sent him a concerned glance in his direction, despite know he couldn't see it.

Kaze swallowed, "Okay. Uh, it should dry up just ahead. It's just a puddle."

His voice betrayed his words. Echo wondered what was wrong.

For another moment, they stood, not moving. Then Kaze stepped forward, breath hitching from something other than the cold, and Echo began to follow them- and then they suddenly sank, the water coming up to Echo's chest, who gave a startled yell, water pouring into his mouth. Beside him, Kaze shouted a curse word.

They scrambled backwards, dripping wet, back onto the dry part of the tunnel. Echo sat down, shivering violently, hugging himself in an attempt to preserve warmth. He could hear Kaze panting a little way to his right.

"We'll go back," Kaze said, after a long moment, "We'll go back and- and find another way."

Silently, teeth chattering, Echo nodded. Kaze reached out and blindly gripped his arm, pulling it over his shoulders and helping him stand up. They turned around.

Yelling. Shouting. In a language they couldn't understand. The ticking bounced off the walls.

With a scared scream, Echo scrambled backwards, his arm leaving Kaze's shoulders, and fell right into the water.

The cold pierced him like daggers. Shot up his spine like an electric shock. There was nothing but the cold and the ticking and the terror raging through his brain. He tried to kick his legs, thrashed his arms.

He couldn't swim.

Hands gripped his arms, and he was forcefully pulled out of the water. Echo took in a large gasp, coughing up the freezing liquid, brain a muddled mess of cold and fright.

"How long can you hold your breath?" Kaze asked. The pounding of feet was getting louder and louder. The only reason they were on top of them was because of the tunnel's tendency to grow smaller and lower.

"I- Pretty long," Echo gasped, "When I actually mean to go under. B-But I can't swim."

Kaze swore for what must have been the hundredth time that day. The guards were getting louder. Coming closer. Echo would have started crying, if he'd possessed the ability to.

"Don't let go of me."

Echo's grip automatically tightened around Kaze. He clenched his eyes shut. Took a deep breath They didn't have a choice.

They jumped in.

* * *

The corridors were dark, and Lloyd had to keep up a near-constant ball of green energy, Zane doing his best to help by making his whole body glow an ice blue, to light the way. It would cast shadows along the walls, like clawed hands reaching for them, cruel faces taunting.

Zane wondered how Basilisk had even built this place. How they even got around. Perhaps there were secret passageways? Or they all had some kind of map on them? Or maybe there were markings on the walls that they themselves only see as random scratches?

With that thought, he began to pay more attention to the walls, eyes scanning them in search of out of place markings or possible secret passageways or levers.

They were quick to come to another crossroad, but no matter how much PIXAL scanned their surroundings, it was impossible to tell where they went. It was Zane himself that chose this time; he went left.

"Wait," said Cole, and Zane came to a stop, "We should mark the walls. So we don't get turned around."

Silently, Lloyd placed his hand on the wall, fingers spread. There was a soft green glow, and then when he pulled his hand away, there was a neon green hand print in his wake.

They kept going, running into crossroad after crossroad. Lloyd made a habit of marking the walls every few feet, and Zane began to worry that he was using too much energy. He shouldn't be straining himself.

"Lloyd," he said, as the green ninja finished marking another wall, "You should put out that light. We'll be able to see fine with mine."

Lloyd blinked at him, surprised by the request. Then he gave a small shrug, curled his hand into a fist and put out the light. It darkened noticeably, but Zane only increased his own bodily glow to replace it. The hand-print marking shone like a glow in the dark sticker.

They kept going for a long time, footstep constantly bouncing off the walls and water dripping on their heads. Zane worried that someone will hear them, but then he decided that it would probably be helpful if someone did and came to investigate. They could certainly use a guide.

They turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt. Zane's power source dropped to his stomach. Jay groaned behind him.

A wall loomed before them. To make matters worse, there were no crossroads nearby. They'd have backtrack.

"Great," Cole sighed.

Zane's jaw clenched, annoyance flickering across his eyes. He spun on his heel and stubbornly began making his way back, only to come to a startled stop as spikes shot out of the floor inches in front of him, their tops vanishing into the blackness of the ceiling. Zane stumbled backwards, almost tripping on the uneven ground.

Lloyd whispered something in a different language, and it took a moment for Zane's translator to automatically kick in. Serpentine. Since when did Lloyd speak Serpentine?

He shook his head, pushing that matter to the back of his mind to deal with later. Jay, finally realising what had happened, gave a dismayed cry.

"Okay," said Nya, mouth open slightly, "Okay, uh... crap."

"Zane," Seamus said, but when the nindroid looked at him, the ex-slave's attention was not on the blockade, "Can you give us some light?"

Blinking, Zane stepped closer to Seamus, following his gaze to the wall. His eyes widened as his light covered it, revealing markings engraved in the stone. Zane channelled an extra burst of energy, his light stretching past the markings and up the wall, but the ceiling remained hidden.

"If you have me," read Cole, "You want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?"

"It's... a riddle?" Nya asked. Lloyd groaned, massaging his forehead with a grimace.

"But it doesn't make any sense!" Jay exclaimed.

"That's how riddles work, Jay," said Cole, before turning to Zane hopefully, "Any ideas?"

Pushing down the irritation that was bubbling in his stomach-  _they didn't have time for this_ \- Zane forced his attention to the riddle, humming thoughtfully.

"Well," he said, "It could be an object, I suppose. Something that someone else wants and won't give back?"

Seamus shook his head, "No, riddles are more complicated than that. The answer's right in front of us."

"Like always," Lloyd muttered, more to himself than the others. Zane frowned at him, watching as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He looked so tired, like he was about to collapse on the spot, and he was avoiding looking in Zane's general direction. Then again, he was shining rather bright.

"How many guesses do we get?" asked Nya, "Three? As many as we like?"

"I'm scared to find out," said Cole.

 _"Is it a secret?"_  asked PIXAL, broadcasting her voice so the others could hear. Zane frowned, confused, but then the wall began to shift. The floor shook and trembled and very nearly sent them all tumbling to the floor, Jay grabbing Lloyd around the waist to help him stay upright. The sound of stone scraping against stone echoed down the corridors like a massive angry dog, causing Zane's ears to pound.

The wall split in two, sliding out of sight and revealing another passage. The trembling stopped, dust gently settling back down, silence once more filling the area. A long moment passed, the silence stretching on in their surprise. Finally, Seamus cleared his throat.

"Good job, PIXAL."

Cole, Jay and Nya snapped out of their shock and agreed, before quickly starting to make their way down the new corridor. Lloyd stood for a moment longer, rubbed at his face, and then followed, Seamus following close behind.

Zane blinked, smiled, and then made his way after them, "You are brilliant, PIXAL."

But PIXAL's face was of a considering frown in the corner of his screen, as though she were contemplating something she couldn't quite understand.  _"Zane?"_

Her voice was hesitant. He frowned, smile falling, "What is it?"

_"How does Seamus know my name?"_

* * *

_The sea crashed against the island's rocks, sending white spray and salty droplets flying into the air. He watched from the kitchen window, a smile on his metallic lips and a book forgotten in his lap._

_His father sat at the table, scribbling away in an open journal. A frown was on his brow, and his eyes were hard, nose inches away from the paper. Zane had long ago learnt not to interrupt him when he was concentrating._

-His lungs were burning in his chest, begging for air, but there wasn't any air around him it was all water and the hand on his arm was so tight it was starting to hurt just as much as his chest-

_Gizmo was busy doing the dishes, scrubbing away at the plates. Zane had wanted him to come play Hide and Seek, but Gizmo would always put his chores first. He was programmed as such, after all._

_It was peaceful. With the waves, the birds, the quiet. It was almost always peaceful at the lighthouse. That's what happens when you live in the middle of the ocean with only three people- well, one person and two robots._

-His legs kicked and thrashed, eyes a faint glow in the darkness, as the tunnel became wider and wider until it was nothing but ice cold water-

_Zane returned to his book, settling down in the window seat. He was still teaching himself to read, even after nearly three years of being active, but he was getting there. He wanted to surprise his father by reading out the big words later tonight._

_The high pitched screech of the alarm caused him to jump, the clockwork of his power source beginning to tick faster and louder. Julian's hand spasmed, his pen clattering onto the table top, the blood draining from his face._

_"Zane," he said, only glancing at him as he hurridly rose from his seat, "Get in the basement. Quickly!"_

_Abandoning his book, Zane scrambled from the window seat, floorboards creaking as he dashed down the stairs. The lever was pulled and he slipped through the secret entrance, the wall closing behind him._

-His entire body burned, his limbs had turned into lead, numb fingers reaching for the surface only to press against a thick layer of ice-

_He stood near the closed entrance for a long moment, hugging himself, trying to quiet the ticking of his power source. Above him, the floorboards creaked as his father made his way over to the door._

BANG!

_Wood slamming against wood, leaving Zane flinching violently. Footsteps, an army of them, right above his head. His father came to a stop._

_"Julian," growled a familiar voice, one Zane had heard but had never seen the owner of, sending shivers running up his spine, "What's taking so long? We need those weapons_  NOW _!"_

-Sinking, sinking, the hand around his arm slipping away and he was plummeting, deeper, deeper, for he had not been programmed to swim-

_There was another bang, a fist against the table. Zane pressed his back against the wall, sliding to the floor and burying his head in his knees, trying to stop himself from crying aloud lest they hear him._

_"Y-Yes," his father stuttered, "You see, I-I just need a little more time-"_

_"You've had plenty of time!" The floorboards creaked again, the intruder moving towards his father, who backed away until his back was against a wall, directly above where Zane sat._

_"Things like these are complicated," his father tried, "T-They take time-"_

_A thump. Julian gasped for breath. A hand around his throat._

_There was a long moment of silence, nothing but his father gasping, trying to breathe. A small whimper escaped Zane's lips. Another moment passed. Then the intruder spoke._

_"Search the lighthouse."_

-Arms, wrapping around his torso, bubbles escaping his mouth and floating upwards until they popped, the ice and water in his throat and lungs-

_Immediately, there was the sound of books being thrown on the floor, boxes being tipped over, plates shattering and tables tipping. Zane heard Gizmo give a frightened bleep, his wheels zipping along the floor as he found a place to hide._

_It seemed to go on forever. He kept his eyes shut tight. This wasn't the first time they'd intruded on their home, but it was the first time they'd torn the place apart. He wondered what they were looking for. Why couldn't they just leave them alone?_

_Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the noise stopped. He peeked out from beneath his knees hesitantly, desperately hoping that they were gone. Zane raised his head, looking up at the ceiling- and his eyes locked with black holes, watching him through the small gaps in the floorboards._

_A triumphant yell. "There's someone down there! There's someone beneath the floors!"_

-Flying, zipping upwards, so fast that he was almost certain that a rocket was strapped to his back, and then the ice shattered as they collided, and he gasped, coughing up water, breathing, breathing, his breaths coming out in puffs of white-

_Footsteps, running down the stairs. Boards crying out in protest. Armour clinking together. Weapons unsheathed. Julian yelled something Zane didn't catch. The skeleton continued to chant, again and again, a joyous yell, a manic laugh._

_"There's someone down there! Beneath the floors! Beneath the floors!"_

_Beneath the floors._

He drowned.


	20. Almost

_Chapter Twenty:_

Almost

* * *

The cold pierced him like a million needles. Stabbed and prickled along his skin, stealing away his breath like a frozen kiss, his body shaking and shivering in a desperate attempt to keep him warm.

Forever seemed to pass. His eyes were beginning to slide shut, and he was vaguely annoyed when someone began shaking him. It was quite weak, but it was still shaking.

He squinted up at the person above him, the exhaustion heavy in his bones. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, and realised that it was a semi-familiar nindroid. For a moment, he thought it was the White-Titanium Ninja (or whatever it was he went by), but then he became aware of the terror on his face and realised it was Echo.

"A-Are you o-o-okay?" the nindroid stuttered, shivering almost as violently as he himself. Wincing, he pushed himself up on weak limbs, coming dangerously close to falling over.

"I'm fine," he gasped, "I-I'm fine."

He looked up- and his mouth fell open. He was looking at the sky. Blue, pale, partly obscured by clouds. They sat on the shore of a mostly frozen lake, the village of Stiix all the way on the other side, snow and frost and ice on almost every exposed area. Goosebumps raced up his arms. He wasn't dressed for this weather.

But despite this thought, a weak grin spread across his lips, a small laugh bubbling in his chest. Then it grew, bigger and bigger until it felt as though there was a balloon in his chest, and he was laughing and laughing even though he was freezing and his clothes were damp from the snow.

"We're out," he breathed, not caring about the wetness in his eyes nor the numbness of his limbs. He gave a breathless laugh. "We're  _out!_ "

Echo sent him a smile that looked more like a grimace, although that was mostly because of how his face was a horrific mess of twisted metal. His grin fell slightly, but then returned and he forced himself up onto trembling, numb legs, struggling to help Echo rise as well.

"Now where?" the droid asked, hugging himself and sending the town a little ways away a curious yet hesitant look. He thought for a moment, rubbing his arms to try and keep warm.

"I suppose we head for Ninjago City," he mused, a bit hesitantly, "You know... find your brother."

Echo's lips spread in a wide smile, although he winced at the action. He returned the smile, but it was not as wide, and offered an arm.

Immediately, the droid slung his arm around his shoulders, putting some of his weight on him and relieving his broken leg. He pulled him slightly closer, a hand on Echo's up and his other wrapped around the wrist next to his neck.

Silently, they began to limp away from the water, despite the exhaustion, despite the pain. They were getting somewhere. Slowly. Agonisingly.

Keep going.

Keep going.

They were getting somewhere.

* * *

Zane had stood, staring, for a long moment. It was only when Jay called for him to hurry up that he snapped out of it and jogged to join his siblings, mind still whirling and spinning as he attempted to answer PIXAL's question.

"He must have heard you," he thought, so that only PIXAL could hear, "When you were scanning the labyrinth, perhaps."

 _"I'm not sure, Zane,"_  said PIXAL, her brow furrowed,  _"He's an ex-slave. Surely he's not that observant?"_

"You never know," he thought, "We only met him a little while ago."

PIXAL fell silent, a contemplating frown on her face. Zane decided to stay silent as well.

The group continued walking, their only permanent source of light immitting from Zane's glowing skin. The torches bolted on the walls were few and far between, and wouldn't budge when Nya had attempted to take one down.

They came to a crossroad, four corridors branching off from the centre, including the one they'd come through. They split up a little, peering into the darkness of each corridor in hopes of finding something that will tell them where to go.

"Hey," called Seamus, pointing to the floor, "It's another riddle."

Blinking, Zane followed his finger, and was startled to discover there were indeed words engraved on the uneven floor. He brightened his glow as he approached.

"What belongs to you," he read, "But is used by others more?"

Jay groaned, "Oh, come on! Can't we just choose a random corridor?"

"But this might open another way," Nya pointed out, "For all we know, it could take us straight to Echo."

"But what's the answer?" asked Cole.

"Uh..." Lloyd winced, once more rubbing at his temples, "Video games?"

There was the sound of something snapping, and then Lloyd was scrabbling away with a surprised yell as a metal wall shot up from the floor, quickly followed by another, their tops vanishing into the darkness. The wall that stood before him now was bent, meeting together, like the inside of an X.

"Lloyd!" Cole's voice was muffled, hardly audible through the thick metal, "Zane!"

"I'm okay!" Zane yelled.

"Crap," Seamus sighed, causing Lloyd to jump, having not realised he was there.

"What happened?" asked Lloyd.

"Looks like we only had one guess," came Nya's voice, "Now we're separated."

"Who're you with?" Jay asked.

"Seamus is with me," answered Lloyd.

"It's just PIXAL and I over here," Zane said, "Are you three together?"

"Yeah, we're together," said Nya, "What do we do now?"

"Just... keep your phones out," Lloyd suggested, quite hesitantly, "We can keep in touch through texting. We'll find another way through."

_CLANG!_

Lloyd jumped backwards, a fist sized dent appearing in the metal wall. He heard Cole give a pained yell.

"Deepstone!" the ghost exclaimed, "It's made of  _deepstone_!"

"We must hurry," said Zane, "We'll meet up at the prison."

He heard Jay sigh, "Why do we always get split up? Nothing good ever comes from splitting up."

"We don't have much choice," said Seamus, "We'll stay in contact," he nodded down the hall, "Lead the way, Lloyd."

Lloyd nodded, then quickly stopped himself when pain shot through his skull. Gritting his teeth, he turned and began walking down the corridor, Seamus following.

"Good luck, guys!" Nya yelled, as she, Jay and Cole began going down their own corridor. Zane stared at the deepstone wall for a long moment, before dimming his glow so that the only light came from his electric blue eyes.

He turned to face the darkness of his own corridor. The silence was a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

He began to walk.

* * *

The tree's stretched towards the sky with long, thin arms covered in frost laced leaves. Snow crunched beneath their feet, but the further they walked the thinner it seemed to become. Echo decided to take this as a good sign.

The exhaustion had settled deep into his exoskeleton now. His feet dragged across the snow, leaving behind long trails that his muddled mind didn't even consider trying to cover. The arm that wasn't wrapped around Kaze's shoulder dangled at his side, and any feeling that had remained in his disfigured face was lost.

He wanted so badly to collapse. Just fall over and not get back up. But he didn't. Because they were out and he was almost  _home_. He was almost back with his brother and the Ninja and Gizmo and Wu and Misako and the Bounty and the sound of his family playing video games in the living room while Gizmo once more defeated him at a game of chess.

His chest squeezed.

Almost home.

Kaze came to a sudden stop, and Echo almost tripped over. He sent him a concerned look, but Kaze's gaze wasn't on him. He followed his eyes and gave a delighted gasp.

It was some kind of big, fluffy animal with horns. It's nose pushed away the snow as grazed at the grass beneath, forcing them out of the dirt and chewing. It's tail swung back and forth as flies attempted to land on it's behind, and it's hoved feet left curious prints in the snow.

"What _is_  that?" asked Echo, not tearing his eyes from the creature, ignoring the pain flaring up his cheeks from his smile. Kaze glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

"It's a yack."

A giggle rose in his throat, "It's fluffy."

Kaze was silent for a moment, as though debating whether or not he should comment. Then he shook his head, taking a hesitant step towards the yack, "We could... we could ride it."

Echo gasped, "We can?"

Kaze nodded, not looking at him, "Yes, but we've got to be  _very_  careful. Otherwise we'll scare him off."

Silently, Echo nodded in understanding. He didn't want to scare the fluffy creature.

Depositing Echo on a dry patch of grass beneath a tree, Kaze slowly limped towards the yack, hands held out in front of him in an attempt to he meant no harm. The yack snorted, hardly glancing at him, and returned to it's grazing.

Now standing only a few inches in front of the creature, Kaze glanced over his shoulder at Echo to make sure he was okay. The droid was smiling widely, watching in wonder and excitement. A smile tugged at his own lips, and he turned back around before Echo could see.

Licking his lips, he inched closer to the animal, his hand hovering just over it's back. Then it's head rammed into his stomach, sending him flying into the snow, the air forced from his lungs.

"Kaze!"

He groaned, gasping for breath, grimacing as he clutched at his stomach. He lay there for a long moment, struggling to regain his breathing. Finally, with another grimace, he pushed himself up, clothes soaked and skin tingling from the cold.

"Okay," he gasped, "Perhaps that wasn't a good-" He froze, mouth opening and eyes widening. Echo stood in front of the creature, putting most of his weight against the tree behind him, joyfully feeding it grass.

Sensing his gaze, Echo looked at him, his smile so wide Kaze was almost certain his faceplate was going to fall off. Again.

"Look!" the droid giggled, "He likes me!"

Kaze, becoming aware that he was gaping like a moron, forced his mouth closed. He approached hesitantly, hand on his still rather painful stomach, sending the yack a weary look. Echo, however, seemed unconcerned, making little cooing noises as he fed the animal another handful of grass.

"How... How did you do that?" Kaze asked, stopping just out of reach of the yack. Echo gave a little shrug, still grinning.

"He was eating grass, so I decided to give him some," he gave another giggle, "His tongue feels funny!"

Kaze shook his head, watching the scene before him play out in astonishment. Hesitantly, he took another step forward. The yack didn't react when he placed his hand on it's back, too focused on eating the grass in Echo's hand.

Taking a steady breath, Kaze leapt onto the yack's back, very nearly falling off. The yack shifted, snorted, but then quickly turned it's attention back to Echo when he presented it with more grass. Kaze let out a relieved breath.

Bending slowly, Echo sat the grass on a patch of snow, the yack following his hand and continuing to munch on the greenery, not noticing the droid's absence. Echo stumbled over to the side of the creature, Kaze reaching down to help him up. It took a few tries, but eventually, the nindroid was behind him, arms wrapped around his waist.

"Let's see if I remember how to do this," Kaze muttered. He untied something around his waist- a long rope that he'd been using as a belt- and reached forwards, hooking it around the yack's snout.

It snorted, wined, shook it's head, before settling down. Kaze pulled on the makeshift reins, and the yack obediently began going left. A grin lifted his lips.

"Will this help us find my brother quicker?" asked Echo. Absentmindedly, Kaze nodded.

"Yeah."

Smiling, Echo buried his face into Kaze's shoulder, letting out a happy sigh, despite the pain in his body. His eyes slid shut. "Good."

He fell asleep.


	21. Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPECIAL THANKS for the puzzles and riddles from ShinyShiny9 and TheAmberShadow!

_Chapter Twenty-One:_

Shadows

* * *

"I pass before the sun," read Seamus, "Yet make no sound. What am I?"

Lloyd sighed, wishing the constant pounding of his skull would go away. He pressed his palm into his closed eye, but it did little to relieve him. "Uh... a shadow?"

They waited for a moment. Nothing happened.

"Hm," Seamus hummed, regarding the wall in front of them with a critical eye, "Isn't shadow the only thing that sun  _can't_  reach?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, temple spiking, "Shut up."

Seamus didn't look at him. He wondered, for a brief moment, if he'd gone too far. Then he decided he wasn't in the mood for caring.

"Oh, wait," said Seamus suddenly, "I've read it wrong. It says 'yet make no  _shadow_.'"

Lloyd groaned. The guilt of getting his team split up was clawing at his chest, and the headache that had been a constant pound against his skull was far from helping matters. He was annoyed, irritated, guilty as charged, and even the slightest sound sent his ears ringing and his vision whitening. They didn't have time for this,  _he_  didn't have time for this.

For a moment, he thought perhaps he should have brought along some painkillers, but the idea was quickly banished. Painkillers, while affective, would dull his senses, make his movements slower, leave him weaker than he already was.

Why did it have to be  _puzzles_?

"Oh!" Seamus exclaimed, causing Lloyd to wince as the man's voice bounced off the walls, "It's the wind!"

The wall shifted, opening to reveal another corridor. Lloyd gave a relieved sigh, happy that he was, at the very least, not by himself. He would have probably ended up sitting on the ground in defeat at some point. Hell, he'd probably have fallen asleep by now.

That thought wasn't all that bad, actually.

The two began to make their way down the newly opened corridor, a ball of green light swirling to life in Lloyd's palm. They walked in silence for a long time, and at some point Seamus took the lead, leaving Lloyd to trail after him like a confused child, his fingers almost never leaving his forehead.

If Seamus noticed that there was something wrong, he didn't say anything. Didn't even shoot the younger male a concerned glance, didn't even seem annoyed with him. Lloyd was grateful for this. It was just a headache, after all. He'd gotten his very core partly sucked out of him by a resurrected Overlord, a headache- even a migraine- was  _nothing_  compared to the undying agony he'd experienced in that blasted tube.

A shudder ran up his spine, as thought a cold finger was running along it. He pushed those thoughts away. He'd rather not start having nightmares again.

"Wow."

Lloyd blinked, raising his head. His eyes widened. They'd come to a large cavern, light by glowing torches. But that wasn't what had caused his surprise.

Across the floor were large, black pillars about a head taller than Lloyd, attached to the thin gaps in the ground. Each of the gaps lead to a hole in the wall the same size and shape as the pillars, and, at the other end of the room, was a large door, bolted shut by heavy, silver bolts.

"What is this?" asked Lloyd, more to himself than Seamus, the green energy in his palm flickering out of existence. He squinted in the new light of the torches, the throbbing in his head spiking.

"Look's like a puzzle," said Seamus, running a long finger down one of the black pillars, "I recognise it, I think. My daughter loved these kind of games."

"Well, what is it?"

Seamus shook his head, hand dropping back to his side, "I can't remember what they were called. It was so long ago."

Lloyd's eyes softened a little, "Do you remember how to play?"

The ex-slave looked about the room with a small frown, before nodding slowly, as though uncertain, "Yes, I belive I remember how to play. It's simple, really."

With a newfound confidence, Seamus strode forwards, pointing to the black pillars, "We need to push these pillars into those holes," he now pointed to the holes in the walls, the ones that were the exact size and shape of the pillars.

"That's it?"

Seamus nodded, "Technically, yes. But the pillar doesn't stop when you want it to; it keeps going until it hits something."

Lloyd blinked, then took a closer look at the puzzel. The black pillars were in seemingly random positioned, but not a single one was halfway across a line, always being at an end or a three-way crossroad. Unthinking, he raised his eyes to the ceiling, and a gasp left his throat.

Dangling above them, hardly visible from where the swung between light and dark, were balls- except, not just any balls. These balls were spiked, a snake's skull painted on their side. He swallowed.

Bombs.

"That's not good," Seamus muttered, moving to stand next to him, "We must only have a certain number of tries."

Lloyd frowned, biting his lip, "But how many?"

Seamus looked around the room, planting his hands on his hips. Then, his arm snapped upwards, finger pointing to the bolted door, "There!"

Lloyd followed his finger, confused. It took him a moment, but, eventually, a number formed out of the door's many bolts.

Twelve.

"Crap," Lloyd breathed, closing his eyes. There were six pillars.

They had two shots with each.

"Okay," said Seamus, nervously scratching at the stubble forming on his jaw, "Let's just think about this."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed," said Lloyd, "But I'm not exactly in a good state for thinking through puzzles."

Seamus didn't answer. Instead, he made his way over to the closest pillar, judging how far away the closest hole was, then following the thin floor gap with his finger, closing one eye.

"There," he said, pointing to a hole, "We can get it through there."

Lloyd followed the floor gap, relieved to find that it was indeed possible to get the pillar to the hole in two shots. Seamus made his way around the other side of the pillar, spreading his palms against its surface. After exchanging a look with Lloyd, he took a deep breath and pushed.

The pillar slid along the floor with ease, like an ice puck gently gliding across the rink. It was unnecessary for Seamus to continue pushing, and the pillar came to stop at the crossroad, as though it had hit a wall.

Unconsciously, Lloyd held his breath, half expecting to find little pieces of himself flying in every direction. To his extreme relief, that didn't happen, and he slowly let out a sigh.

Seemingly just as relieved as he was, Seamus made his way over to the pillar again and gave it another little push, sending it gently gliding towards the hole. Upon reaching it, it slid inside perfectly, coming to a stop with a tiny  _click_  as it locked in place.

The bolts on the door shifted and morphed, one darting out of the way, conveniently forming the number ten. Lloyd licked his abruptly dry lips, rubbing at his temples.

"Okay," he said, "That's... that's good, right?"

Seamus hesitated, "I... think so?"

Lloyd sighed, turning to the next pillar. This one turned out to be slightly harder. They followed the gaps multiple times, but struggled to find a route that would only use two pushes. The closest hole would be impossible to get to because of it's multiple turns, so they set their sights on the second closest.

They did this for a long time. At one point, Lloyd had to sit down and cradle his head, the stress of the situation leaving him dizzy and sore. He hated to show weakness in front of Seamus, and so pretended to be investigating the gaps in the floors, although he wasn't sure whether or not it was convincing.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Seamus gave a yell of triumph and pushed the pillar into another pillar, shoving it into the hole and sending the one he'd pushed to the other end of the room, where it came to a stop at a corner, a single push away from another hole.

Lloyd's head snapped towards the door, wondering if that counted as one push. The bolts shifted, forming the number nine. A grin spread his lip and, since he was closest, he climbed to his feet and pushed the second pillar into it's hole. The bolts shifted into a number eight.

"Three down," said Seamus, crossing his arms over his chest and surveying the remaining pillars with a determined eye.

"Three to go."

* * *

Nya wasn't sure if it was out of boredom or out of nerves, but at some point Jay had begun singing. Not in a cheery, loud voice either, since that would risk them being heard and caught, but a low whisper that made this whole place even creepier than it was before.

"I's got a little baby, but she's out of sight," Jay whisper-sang, trailing behind her and Cole, "I talk to her across the telephone, I's never seen my honey, but she's mine all right."

"So take a tip," Cole joined in, his voice just as low and haunting as Jay's, "An' leave this gal alone."

"Will you two shut up?" Nya hissed.

"But it's helping my nerves!" said Jay. Nya rolled her eyes, sliding up next to him and curling her hand around his.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," she insisted. Cole made a disagreeing sound, but said no more at Nya's glare. She turned back to Jay, plastering a smile on her lips.

"We're making progress. Within no time, we'll be back with Echo at the Bounty, sitting in front of the TV, the others watching as I kick your butt at that  _Ninja Defender_  game again."

Despite the jab at his ego, Jay gave a small laugh, the thought lifting his heart. He gave a nervous glance around at the shadows, but then forced himself to relax, gently swinging his and Nya's interlocked hands back and forth. He gave a small laugh.

"Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right."

"Still," Cole hummed, "It's a good song."

They walked on in silence again, careful not to trip over the random potholes in the already rocky floor. They splashed in puddles with almost every step, and soon their shoes and socks were cold and soaked, the legs of their gi clinging uncomfortably to their calves.

A shock of electricity would surge to life in Jay's palm every time the darkness became suffocatingly thick, but it provided little light. Nya had never been truly afraid of the dark, albeit she would sometimes find it unfriendly, especially when she was younger or after watching a decently scary horror movie.

Suffice to say, she scarcely removed her hand from around Jay's.

"Hey," Cole's voice broke through her thoughts, leaving her blinking rapidly, "What's that?"

Nya followed his gaze, eyes widening as she spotted the room beyond. They entered slowly, hesitantly, inching inside with wide eyes and tensed shoulders, ready to fight or flight at the first sign of danger. But, thankfully, there was no obvious danger.

Besides the gaping abyss in the floor, of course.

* * *

Total silence. Even the echoes of his footsteps seemed to have been muffled. There wasn't a single torch in sight, leaving the twin electric blue orbs the only source of light throughout the corridors.

Zane was well aware that the torches were unnecessary with his night vision activated, but that didn't stop him wishing there were some. It would have been comforting, if nothing else.

There was a persistent itch on the back of his head, but he forced himself to ignore it. Kept his eyes wide, observant, searching the walls and the floors for any signs of riddles or passages or  _anything_. It was as if the walls were closing in on him slowly, despite the corridors being larger than the entire Bounty.

He wrapped his arms around himself in form of a hug, the itch on his head spiking, like bugs were digging into the back of his skull. Unable to stop himself, he raised a hand and gripped at the silver hair on the rear of his head, spinning on his heels and looking left and right. His heart was in his throat.

He saw nothing.

Swallowing, scowling at his silliness, Zane turned back around and continued walking, his pace slightly faster. PIXAL remained on his screen, but she didn't speak. He wondered if she felt it too, but didn't ask. He didn't have to.

They were compatible.

The itch returned. An ever present burn. Twin lasers slowly chipping away at his titanium head. Zane closed his eyes. Paranoid. He was being paranoid.

 _"I don't think so,"_  said PIXAL. Zane drew a sharp breath. Walked faster.

Frost tingled along his finger tips, a comforting coolness against his titanium skin. He took deep breaths, releasing them slowly. Calm. Calm.  _Calm down._

He was running. When had he started running?

The itch persisted. Ever present. The zap of twin lasers. The burn of staring eyes.

_I think we're being watched._


	22. Mutilation

_Chapter Twenty-Two:_

Mutilation

* * *

The snow had long since cleared, leaving bright green grass and blue skies in their wake. Fluffy clouds glided across the baby blue above them, gently and slowly, and for the first time in a long time, Kaze felt at peace.

He was tired, so tired he was almost certain he was going to pass out and fall of the yack. But he didn't, so he pressed on, a warm feeling blooming in his chest as Echo slept on his shoulder. The yack moved slowly, and often stopped to sniff, eat or drink. Kaze would have tried to stop it, had he not been so exhausted.

The sun began to descend the sky, turning it from baby blue to a canvas of orange, pinks and yellows. The normally white clouds were painted pale pink, leaving the sky a beautiful painting by nature's artist.

Echo mumbled something he didn't catch, shifting a little and burying his face into Kaze's shoulder. Despite himself, a smile tugged at Kaze's lips. He yawned, rubbed at his eyes, and pressed on.

Long after the stars had begun to speckled across the dark sky, Kaze pulled the yack to a stop in a small clearing. Careful not to wake his sleeping passenger, Kaze slid off of the yack's back, picking up Echo before he could fall off and setting him down in a soft patch of grass.

He turned back to the yack, grabbing the rope and tieing it around the animal's muzzle, although not tight enough that it couldn't open its mouth to eat. With the other end of the rope, he tied the yack to a tree, ripped up some grass with his hands and guided it's head to the ground, much like he'd seen Echo do earlier, before leaving it to munch on its dinner.

Too tired and still far too weak to even consider getting the materials to light a fire, Kaze settled down next to Echo, grateful for the warm night. His eyes slid shut.

He was asleep before he could think anything through.

* * *

The black pillar slid into the wall, fitting into place perfectly. Lloyd gave a small sigh, the bolts on the door rearranging behind him to form the number one.

He and Seamus had just spent the last hour and a half trying to figure out the puzzle, and they were making progress, even if it was slowly. Lloyd made his way over to where Seamus stood, studying the last pillar's position with a critical eye. It was a complicated one, which they had only one push to complete.

Finally, hesitantly, Seamus pushed the pillar down the left lane, in the opposite direction of the hole. Lloyd held his breath, watching with wide eyes as the pillar almost seemed to come to a stop.

He came very close to falling to the floor in a puddle of relief when the track rounded to form a circle, the pillar moving past them and sliding perfectly into the last hole in the wall. Seamus and Lloyd shared a victorious grin, as the last of the bolts slid away from the door.

"Glad that's over," muttered Seamus, as they eagerly made their way over to the door. Lloyd stopped in front of it and groaned.

On the door was another puzzle.

"Nevermind," Seamus sighed. Lloyd messaged his temples.

"Okay," he said, "We've got this. Right? We've got this?" It came out as more of a question than a statement. He'd never been very good with puzzles, after all. Whenever he'd tried doing one that wasn't easy back when he was little, he'd almost always end up throwing a tantrum and proclaiming that the son of the Dark Lord didn't need to do such idiotic games.

With that way of thinking, he had, of course, began to believe the same to go for school work and almost ever other activity he wasn't immediately good at. That changed when Wu and the Ninja took him in, his uncle having been quite persistent on him learning everything he could, so he'd soon begun getting homeschooled as well as trained. Zane made it a regular thing to help him with his 'intellectual work,' which Lloyd was grateful for to this day.

Seamus shrugged, "No idea."

Across the door were little gem-like stones. They were either square, diamond or oval shaped, and the colours ranged from purple and green to orange and dark blue. Lloyd counted five slots across and six upwards. He had to reach on his tippy toes to touch the top slots, the bottom ones at the same level as his knees.

"What do you think we're supposed-" Lloyd cut himself off, jumping backwards in surprise as the slots turned to show a matching back, hiding the stone from sight. He shared a wide-eyed look with Seamus.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," the ex-slave said. Lloyd sighed.

"You mean a memory game?"

Seamus shook his head, shoulders slumping as he looked back to the hidden slots, "Well... did you spot any matches?"

"I was a bit busy trying to figure out what they were," Lloyd admitted.

They stood in an awkward silence for a long moment, regarding the slots with narrowed eyes. Finally, Lloyd reached forward with weary fingers, his nails hardly brushing against them as he danced between different slots. Nervously licking his lips, Lloyd took a steadying breath and pushed a random slot, causing it to turn and reveal an orange diamond-shaped stone larger than his hand. He wondered if it was real.

"Okay," said Seamus, voice purposefully slow, as though choosing his words with immense care, "Have you, uh... seen another one of 'em?"

Lloyd closed his eyes, pressing the tips of his fingers to his throbbing head, releasing a long, drawn out breath. His shoulders slumped and, for the first time in a very long time, he felt truly and purely irritated.

"No."

* * *

Across the abyss were island-like platforms, their bottoms vanishing into the darkness. Jay swallowed, hastily stepping away from the edge.

Far on the other side of the cavern, across the gaping abyss dotted with platforms, was another ledge with another corridor leading out of sight. The platforms would be relatively easy to jump to (being highly trained Ninja and all), but it was the sturdiness of said platforms that Jay was worried about.

He looked to Cole and Nya, who seemed to be having the same thoughts as him. Cole shrugged, while Nya gave a grimace that looked as thought it was supposed to have been a smile. Jay shifted from foot to foot.

"Who's going first?"

The silence that descended upon them was awkward, none of them wanting to be the first to try. Cole coughed into his fist, not meeting their eyes. Finally, Nya huffed, glaring at them.

"I can't believe you two," she said, storming passed them and standing on the edge of the cliff. She looked over her shoulder at them, raising an eyebrow. Jay cracked a sheepish smile.

"Uh... good luck, honey?"

How impressed she was with that statement showed clearly on her face; which was to say, none at all. Rolling her eyes, Nya turned to face the platforms, took a few steps back and took off running.

For a near heart-stopping moment, she was suspended in midair, arms aloft as though she were about to start gliding. Then her feet slammed into the first platform, stumbling forwards only slightly on the uneven terrain.

Arms still spread, Nya balanced herself, looking back at the boys. Jay swallowed, blood leaving his face as he spotted the bits of dust and small rocks falling from the sides of the platform. It held steady.

Now grinning with a new air of confidence, Nya began leaping from platform to platform, and within moments she was on the other side of the cavern, standing with her hands on her hips in front of the open corridor.

Jay and Cole shared a look.

Then began to jump after her.

* * *

"Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed," Zane hummed, rocking back and forth on his heels. He had finally come to a corridor light by torches, and that had thankfully dulled the paranoid sensation of being watched, "What do you think, PIXAL?"

 _"Well,"_  she said,  _"If it's something one would use to remain hidden, it could be something like a shadow, a lurker; a hiding place, perhaps?"_

Zane was silent for a long moment, brow furrowed in thought, "It's something a thief would use as a tool," he said, "But a queen would use as a toy?"

 _"On the contrary,"_  said PIXAL, _"It's something a thief must use; whereas it's something a queen enjoys using."_

"A weapon?"

_"A possibility. In some sense, perhaps."_

A beat of silence. Zane broke it.

"A mask."

The wall slid open slowly. A grin tugging at his metallic lips, Zane waited for it to vanish completely. He was slightly relieved to discover the torch at the crossroad just ahead.

"Brilliant work, PIXAL," he said, beginning to make his way down the new corridor. On his screen, PIXAL slipped her hands behind her back, smiling widely.

_"Like you'd expect otherwise."_

* * *

Cole stood, an arm across his stomach, hand on his elbow and fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose in a useless attempt to relieve himself of the headache blossoming against his forehead.

Beside him, Jay thoughtfully tapped his foot, frowning at the riddle presented to them. Nya was biting her lip, arms crossed, brow furrowed and eyes hard with annoyance. Cole couldn't blame her. This whole thing was just getting annoying.

"We hurt without moving," read Jay, for the sixth time, "We poison without touching. We bare the truth and the lies. We are not judged by our size."

"It's official," Nya scowled, "I hate riddles."

"I find them quite fun, actually," grinned Jay, but it was quick to falter at the deadpanned look Nya sent him, "Well, uh... not now, though."

Cole sighed, rolling his eyes and slumping against the wall, mouth twisting as sharp little rocks dug into his back. He looked up, at the black abyss above them, wondering if the walls were sturdy enough for him to climb and find out just what was up there...

"This thing doesn't make any sense," sighed Nya, throwing her hands up in the air, "How do we know it's not rigged?"

"We don't," Cole admitted grudgingly, "If you've got a better idea, please, feel free to share."

Nya huffed, crossing her arms without giving an answer. Jay glance between them, hand twitching in a sudden burst of nerves. Hastily, he turned back to the riddle.

"We hurt without moving," said Jay, again, "What can hurt you without moving?"

"Umm..." Cole bit his thumbnail, "A... a thought?"

"I don't know," said Nya, "How can a thought be poisonous?"

"Maybe it's a metaphor," Jay suggested, "So there's no actual poison."

"Not judged by our size," Cole muttered, before shaking his head, "I keep thinking snake, but I've got a feeling that's not it."

"Snake's move," Nya stated. Cole sent her an annoyed look.

"Yeah, I know."

"Don't talk to me like that," she snapped, eyes hardening. Cole pushed himself off the wall.

"Well, don't point out the obvious!"

"Guys..." Jay tried weakly, but he was almost immediately pushed aside, as though he hadn't even spoken at all.

"I wasn't trying to!" Nya yelled, "Even suggesting 'snakes' was a dumb idea!"

"I wasn't suggesting it!" Cole had always been the tallest of the Ninja, Zane coming in as a close second, and while Nya wasn't all that short herself, he could still tower over her if he stood at his full height, "I said that I didn't think that was it!"

"Then why bother saying it?!"

"Guys!" Jay's voice shot off the walls and back at them, his voice repeating over and over in a series of loud echoes. Cole and Nya fell silent, startled by the sudden vastness that had accompanied the yell.

Jay stared at them for a moment, then sighed, rubbing at his eye, "Look, I know this is... wait," his head shot up, eyes widening. Without explanation, he spun on his heels to face the riddle on the wall, "Words! The answer's words!"

A beat of silence. Then the wall began to shift, breaking apart in a crumble of damp rocks, falling away like a badly made sand castle. The darkness beyond led way down a startlingly narrow corridor.

"Will you look at that," Cole said, his voice low. He gave Jay a grin. "You did it!"

But Jay wasn't looking at them. He gave a small shrug, glanced over his shoulder at the corridor they'd come from, and then strode into the new one without a word, stepping over the larger bits of rock that had once formed a wall. Cole glanced at his hands. Perhaps he would have been able to punch it apart with his super strength. He made a mental note to try it later.

Just behind him, Nya sighed, muttered a quick apology that he'd only just been able to catch, and quickly jogged after Jay. For a moment, Cole stood there, startled and unsure, then sighed himself and ran after them.

That riddle went a lot deeper than he liked to admit.

* * *

Lloyd's hand danced in front of the slots, trying desperately to remember if there'd been another orange diamond. His head throbbed and pounded in a steady beat, and he was getting incredibly sick of it. It was a constant pain, one he was starting to grow used to, but was still far from coping with.

"Come on," said Seamus, in what was probably meant to be an encouraging voice but only spiked Lloyd's nerves, "You've got this."

He almost gave a sarcastic- and quite rude- reply, but was able to hold his tongue. He clenched his eyes shut, turned his head away, and pushed a pillar on the middle section.

Lloyd held his breath, not opening his eyes, completely expecting to be blasted into a million pieces. But then a hand tapped his shoulder, and he peeked open his eyes, a surprised laugh leaving his throat.

Staring at him were two identical orange diamonds.

The door's last bolt shot out of place, leaving the door free to open. In his pocket (something Kai had insisted on adding to their gi shortly after they'd dealt with the Preeminent), his phone buzzed.

Smile faltering slightly, Lloyd pulled it out, but didn't press the button to turn it on. The light was sure to worsen his headache, like it had done so before.

"Here," he almost jumped, as a worn hand appeared in front of him. He turned to look at Seamus, who simply gave him a smile. "I'll answer it."

Relieved, Lloyd handed him his phone without complaint, quickly turning back to the now unlocked doors. Planting his hands on them, he pushed with all his strength, forcing the heavy barrier open.

He heard the screaming first.

As light poured into the dark room through the open doors, which banged against the walls so loudly that it rattled Lloyd's skull. His eyes widened to the size as dinner platters, his blood running as cold as ice, goosebumps shooting up his arms.

Lloyd had spent a very long time among the Serpentine when he was younger. While they would speak English when they desired to be heard by humans, they would often speak in their own tongue, so it was no surprise that he would pick some up. He'd learnt quite a lot of it, especially when he was with Pythor.

He'd never really regretted it. It had made it easier to cuss in front of his parents and uncle.

But it was in that moment that he wished he hadn't learnt a word.

The screaming. The cries. The pleads for help. Calls for parents and loved ones. Begging. Children. Adults. Hugging the dead bodies of their friends and family. They bled in cages, strung from the ceiling by deepstone chains, gently swinging back and forth. Crimson blood dripped from the bars, sliding and falling down, down to the floor bellow.

He was hit by the smell next. A stomach churning reek of blood and rotting flesh. Bile rose at the back of his throat and he very nearly threw up right then and there. He hadn't even realised he was crying until he raised his hand to cover his nose.

A Hypnobrai wailed, clutching at its eyeless sockets. A Fangpyre, with its second head missing, leaving the remaining extra neck to flop about uselessly, shook at the bars of its cage, yelling and screaming without words. A Constrictai lay on the floor of its cage, limp hand dangling through the bars, mouth chopped away to nothing but a bloody stubble, leaking green and yellow pus. The mutilated legs of a Venomari lay twisted and deformed, hardly attached to their owner's waist. A youngling lay, cuddling the blood-soaked body of its dead mother.

Horrified, Lloyd took a step back. His breaths came out in shuddering gasps. He was shaking, violently, floor swaying ever closer. He didn't even notice the ringing in his ears.

"I know Carrot seems like an odd name," Lloyd spun around at the voice, the light of the puzzle room covering Seamus in shadows, "But it's what my daughter called me."

There was the snapping sound of his phone taking a picture, and a yell tore from Lloyd's throat at he was blinded by the flash. His vision burned white, head spiralling in an explosion of agony, legs failing to support him and sending him to the bloody floor.

He looked up through blurry eyes, hardly able to see from the drumming against his brain. A dark figure approached, something long and thin in their hand.

"Don't worry, Lloyd," they said, their voice sounding as though it was coming from the other end of a long tunnel, "This is  _completely_ personal."

Pain flared up the side of his head. His eyes rolled back into his skull.

He heard the screaming first.


	23. Trigger

_Chapter Twenty-Three:_

Trigger

* * *

Nya was silent as they turned down another corridor. It was dark again, and the little spark of electricity between Jay's thumb and index finger were providing very little light. If only Kai had been able to join them.

"I hope the others are okay," said Cole, leaving the silence to shatter into a million shards. Jay hummed in agreement.

"Lloyd's got Seamus with him," Nya reassured, "And Zane's got PIXAL. So at least they're not alone."

"And Kai's safe on the Bounty with Sensei and Misako," Jay added, "So at least none of us are alone."

Cole smiled, but it faltered and fell off his face. Nya sent him a worried glance.

"What's wrong?"

The earth master shook his head, "Nothing, it's just... Echo's alone."

A beat of silence followed the statement. Jay's shoulders slumped, his eyes not leaving the ground. Nya gave a mental sigh. Of course he'd still blame himself.

"Well, he won't be alone for long," she said, "We're going to find him, bring him home and forget any of this ever happened."

"I'm not sure it's going to be that simple, Nya," said Cole sadly, "You... you didn't see the video."

Jay sighed, "I should've brought my tools."

"Echo will be fine," Nya said firmly, trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince them, "They wouldn't have killed him," she faltered, "... Right?"

Jay and Cole shared a look, but neither answered. The silence that came over them wasn't awkward, but it was tense, leaving them to fiddle about in their own minds, imagination taking them way to the worst scenarios they could come up with. Jay, perhaps unconsciously, reached out and wrapped his fingers around Nya's.

"Oh, you're joking," Cole groaned, once more breaking the silence. He came to a stop, glaring at the writing on the wall. Jay and Nya stopped a few steps ahead, then back tracked to stand next to him.

"Should we just keep going?" Nya asked, "These things don't seem to be leading us anyway."

"I've got a theory, actually," said Jay, "That the labyrinth is like a series of rings. There's the outer ring, the one we'd entered from the staircase, and with every riddle or puzzle, we go into the next ring, closer to the centre."

"Okay," said Cole, slowly, "Then how many rings do we have to go through."

Jay faltered, "That's, uh... I don't know."

"We'll just have to give it a try," said Nya, grimly, "What's it say?"

"Uh..." Cole squinted, taking a small step closer to the wall, "'I break the bones of the feeble. I enrage the heart of the vengeful. I'm a canvas of friendly masks and blatant lies.' Oh, Jesus Cracker."

"Okay, well," Jay scratched at the back of his neck, "It's, uh, a canvas, right? So a painting?"

Nya shook her head, "A work of art?"

"An art form!" Cole exclaimed, "Something that might be considered an art."

Jay blinked, "What?"

"Like Ninjitsu," Nya explained, "That's an art form. Or a dancer."

"But there're millions of things like that," Jay pointed out.

"We'll just have to narrow it down," said Cole, gesturing to the riddle on the wall, "What kind of art form involves masks and lies?"

"Ummm..." Nya tapped her bottom lip, "A mercenary?" she suggested, "Like Ronin?"

"Break the bones of the feeble," muttered Jay, "Enrage the heart of the vengeful... so it can hurt someone."

"And the lies are blatant," said Nya, "So it would be right under their nose."

"But one would be too dumb to see it," Cole crossed his arms, brow furrowed, "Like, uh... like a pirate?"

"A pirate?" echoed Nya. She would have expected the response from Jay.

Cole shrugged, "Yeah, you know. They steal, they lie, they get their way."

They turned to look at the wall hopefully. It didn't budge.

Nya sighed, "Okay, let's just keep- wait," her head shot up, eyes widening, and she spun to face the wall again, "Betrayal!"

Her voice bounced off the walls. There was a moment where nothing happened, her voice slowly fading in the dark corridor. Then, with the groan of rusted gears, the wall began to sperate.

"Yes!" exclaimed Jay, throwing a victorious fist in the air, "Let's get-"

His own scream cut him off. Cole and Nya spun around, startled, mouths opening and eyes wide as they spotted the newly made hole in the floor. Then Cole fell with a scream of his own, down a hole that hadn't been there before. Nya yelled, scrambling away. The floor vanished beneath her.

She fell.

* * *

Zane placed the smallest ring at the top. The door behind him clicked open.

Smiling, he checked his phone to see if anyone had answered his message. Nya had said that everything was going fine so far, but he'd texted them fifteen minutes ago and still had no reply from Lloyd. His smile fell, and he tucked his phone away, making sure to put it on high volume so he'd know immediately when someone answered.

He turned to face it, quickly making his way over. His frowned deepened upon tugging at the handle, only to discover it was still locked. Spotting the words engraved into the metal, he sighed.

 _"'If you yell,"_  read PIXAL, _"I'll yell too. If you whisper, I'll whisper back. But if you ask a question, I will not answer.' Hm. Curious."_

Zane gave a nod of agreement, standing back to get a better view of the door's riddle. He would have possibly enjoyed all these riddles and puzzles and games, had his siblings and his own life not been in danger.

"A copycat?" Zane tried. The door didn't budge.

 _"Perhaps something like it,"_  said PIXAL,  _"But what?"_

A silence stretched on, Zane regarding the door with a frown. Why did it have to be riddles and puzzles and complicated things? Why did they have to take his Echo in the first place?

Why couldn't they have just taken him?

"Wait," Zane straightened, "Is it an echo?"

The door almost seemed to pause. Then there was a click of a lock, and the door swung open gently. Zane gave a relieved sigh and quickly made his way out into the new corridor.

_"You were thinking about him."_

Zane gave a small shrug, but no proper answer. PIXAL didn't speak for a long moment.

_"He's going to be okay."_

"Of course he is," said Zane, eyes starting to glow again as he activated his night vision. This corridor almost seemed darker than the last ones. "I'll make sure of it."

On his screen, PIXAL smiled, " _As soon as-"_  her eyes widened,  _"Look out!"_

Immediately, Zane spun on his heels, but he saw the net spinning towards him too late. It wrapped around his body, binding his arms and legs, and he fell to the uneven floor with a yell. Rocks dug into his mechanical spine, and not a moment after realising this did electricity shoot through his body.

A scream tore from his throat, raw and agonising, his limbs twitching and flaying uselessly. His eyes dulled, a ringing noise persisted in his ears. The electricity didn't stop, but kept zapping and zapping, leaving him twitching and screaming for what felt like hours but what could have only been seconds in reality.

His head snapped to the side as something solid connected with it. He didn't remember passing out.

* * *

_Hands shoved him away, and he stumbled, almost falling to his hands and knees. Before he could regain himself, another pair of hands shoved him back to the first pair. He tripped, falling to the deck, mocking laughter erupting around him._

_A scared sob forced its way out of Zane's throat, and this only seemed to make the skeletons laugh harder. The ship rocked back and forth against the waves, a storm brewing in the sky. The lighthouse had long since vanished on the horizon._

_"Wha' ya doing, morons?" a rather menacing skeleton asked, pushing his way past the others to stand before the droid. Raising an unimpressed eye ridge, he looked about at the other skeletons and spoke to them as though he were a teacher telling young children that recess was almost over, "Alrigh', throw tha dumb bot in tha storage unit and ge' ba' to work!"_

_Hastily, the skeletons scrambled to obey. Two grabbed him around the arms and hauled him through a door and down a flight of stairs into what could only be the cellar._

_Zane twisted in their grasp, sobbing, but their grip was unrelenting. He was thrown to the ground, where he curled into a trembling ball and continued to cry._

_"How is_  this _," an armoured boot poked him in the lower back, "Supposed to help Lord Garmadon?"_

_"Uh... train it?"_

_"Maybe we can reprogram it or something."_

_Zane gave a wail at the suggestion, curling tighter into his ball as though to shield himself. One of the skeletons gave an annoyed sigh, kicking him sharply in the back of the head._

_"Shut up, tin can."_

_"I don't think we should hurt him."_

_A snort, "Him? It's a bloody robot."_

_"Well," a pause, "It still feels pain."_

_"You growing a heart in that shell, bub?" a sharp sound, of bone tapping on a bone, "It's just a dumb robot. It's not like you and me."_

_"Don't tap my ribs!" the skeleton snapped. Zane heard him shoving his companion, the boards creaking beneath the others stumble. He curled up even tighter, whimpering._

_"Don't shove me!" Another shove. The first skeleton stumbled this time, and then there was the clang of objects falling as it slammed into a shelf. Startled, Zane peeked out from his ball, eyes widening as he saw the two skeletons begin punching each other._

_Trembling, he dragged himself away from the fight, wincing as one of the skeletons screamed when their arm was twisted. His back hit the wall and, out the round window on the side of the ship, just above the two skeleton's heads, he realised something white was falling from the sky._

_Snow._

_He'd only ever read about snow._

_One of the skeletons picked the other up by the bones of their ribs and rammed them into the shelf. Pots, pans, baskets and other trinkets fell to the floor in a mess of clanging metal and shattering glass._

_There was the sound of heavy footsteps pounding down the stairs. The two skeletons didn't seem to one that had been slammed against the shelf raised a knife and stabbed the other in the head, causing them to grunt, skull cracking and the blade sticking itself inside._

_It jutted out of the skeleton's skull, but he didn't seem to notice that either. He grabbed the other skeleton by the bony throat and threw them across the room, their body slamming into the wall and falling alongside a painting._

_The menacing skeleton from before appeared, a look of pure rage on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, probably yell at them, but he never got the chance. The skeleton that had been thrown against the wall scrambled to his feet and charged, head ramming right into the other one's stomach and barrelling them into the wall._

_Only Zane noticed the clear liquid gushing out of the red tank. Only Zane noticed the skeleton's metal boots sparking against the wood as the other tried to push him off with his feet._

_The menacing skeleton stomped towards them, yelling something Zane couldn't hear. He was on his feet, couldn't even remember standing up, reaching towards them with metallic fingers._

_"Stop-!"_

_The skeleton's boot slipped in the spilt liquid, twisting at just the right angle. The spark ignited, and it was just enough for the liquid to light up in a blazing flame._

_With identical yells, the three skeletons scrambled away from the sudden fire. Zane leapt forward, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over the flames before it could properly spread. The blanket lit up as well, but helped to smother it._

_Zane looked up, eyes widening when a gun was pulled to his face. The menacing skeleton glared at him, teeth gritted, "What," he spat, "Did you_ do _?"_

_"W-What?" Zane stuttered, hands beginning to shake. They were starting to heat up, the fire licking at his fingers. "I-I didn't-"_

_He didn't get to finish the sentence._

_Because the skeleton pulled the trigger._


	24. Deranged

_Chapter Twenty-Four:_

Deranged

* * *

His mouth was dry. In the way that one could only achieve by sleeping with it wide open. It was the first thing he registered, and he ran his tongue along the sides of his mouth in an attempt to regain his saliva, before the ringing in his ears and the pulsing throb of his head took over.

He groaned, grimacing. He kept his eyes shut, afraid to open them encase he was assaulted by unpleasant light. He moved to massage his temple, hoping to relieve himself of the pain, but his arms wouldn't move. It was as though they were glued to his sides.

"Oh, look," the mocking voice pierced through his skull, hardly audible over the ringing in his ears, "The all-powerful Green Ninja has awoken."

Fingertips lightly brushed against the flesh of his cheek, colder than ice, sending a shudder up his spine.

"Don't you touch him!"

The fingers came to stop. Then, with a small chuckled, they retreated, and Lloyd began to breathe again. He hadn't even realised he'd stopped.

"Lloyd? Lloyd, are you alright?"

He tried to answer, but all that came out was another groan. He tried to open his eyes, wanting to see what was happening, but they quickly fell closed again when his head spiked, his fears having been realised. Wherever he was, it was  _bright_.

"It appears," said the mocking voice, "That the Master of Power has a... headache. You must regret keeping your concussion from them, no?"

"Concussion?" that was Cole. What was he doing here?

A sigh. Someone else, with a mechanical ring to their voice. "I knew it."

Taking a steadying breath, Lloyd forced his eyes open, but he was hardly able to see through the blurriness of his own vision. Someone was standing in front of him, surrounded by a green hue. Someone he knew. It took him a moment to recognise who it was.

"Clouse," Lloyd sighed, his voice hoarse, the ringing in his ears slowly dulling, "Of course."

"Aren't you glad to see me?" asked Clouse, a smirk dancing on his lips. He didn't wait for an answer. "You've gotten yourself into quite the pickle, haven't you?"

"Lloyd," the voice was desperate and relieved at the same time. He turned his head slowly, locking eyes with Jay, who was tied up to a pole a little ways to his right, "Lloyd, are you okay?"

He blinked slowly, wishing he could raise his hand to rub his forehead, "Yeah," he croaked, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He took a better look at his surroundings. They were in a large room- no, a hall. Like an entrance hall in a mansion. Doors branched off to gods knows where, and ladders vanished into the darkness far above them, propped against the walls. Vengestone chains kept Lloyd's arms at his sides, rattling and clanking against each other with every move he made.

Black Rags surrounded them, taunting grins and snickers beneath their ragged shawls. Some were perched on the ladders, others tables or chairs or on top of each other. One hung upside down from a low beam, giggling and pointing and singing something in their unknown language. A taunting song.

The only word Lloyd could think of to describe the scenario was deranged.

They all looked  _deranged_.

Jay and Cole were tied up to poles to his right, said poles having been bolted to the wall. Nya and Zane were in the same position, except to his left. Lloyd's back was pressed against a fourth pole, but he wasn't tied to it, leaving him sitting on in a puddle on the floor. He wondered if that was on purpose.

"You certainly won't be fine for long," said Clouse, clasping his ghostly hands behind his back, "Soren will be sure of that."

Lloyd looked from Jay and Cole to Zane and Nya, eyes wide. Then he turned back to Clouse and, with as much venom as he could muster (which wasn't all that much, considering his condition), said, "Where's Seamus?"

Clouse gave an annoying giggle, the type that only one with a voice like his could create, looking  _far_  too pleased. "I see he's hit a sore spot."

"What?" said Jay, beginning to struggle against his bonds, "What did you do with Seamus?!"

Clouse made an odd sound, something between a giggle and a chuckle. Lloyd's hands clenched into fists, energy crackling beneath his skin, but unable to manifest into anything useful. His glare hardened.

"Oh, of course, you four wouldn't know," Clouse made that odd noise again, ghostly grin showing off perfect teeth, "You weren't there, after all."

Cole frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Lloyd?" said Nya, "What's he talking about? What's happened to Seamus?"

Teeth gritted, Lloyd didn't answer, just closed his eyes. Jay stopped struggling, looking at his younger brother with wide eyes.

"Lloyd?"

"Yes, Lloyd," his eyes snapped open, widening to three times their size. The snickering Black Rags fell deathly silent, some even shrinking away. The hall was filled with the tip tap of boots against stone, and then a small yelp as they kicked a Black Rag that had come to close, sending them scrambling towards the shadows.

If there was one word that Lloyd could use to describe the man that stopped in front of him, it was grizzly. His grey-streaked crimson hair was frizzy and matted, stubble covering his jaw and chin. He was tall, impressively so, leaving Lloyd grimacing as he was forced to tilt his head all the way back to look him in the face. His hands, scarred and worn, with only seven fingers.

"Why don't you tell them?" said the man, as though asking what he was doing on the weekend. Lloyd didn't answer, mostly because his brain was having trouble registering what was happening.

However, the man seemed uncaring for the silence that had descended it, for he simply smiled. "My apologies. I never introduced myself," he held out a hand, as though Lloyd's weren't tied to his sides, "My name is Soren Jerhys."

Lloyd stared at the hand outstretched towards him, then raised his eyes to give the man a blank stare. Mockery gleamed in his eyes, smile still in place. Then, without a word, he dropped his arm back to his side.

"Of course," said Soren, rocking on the balls of his feet, "I already know who you are.  _Everyone_  knows who you are, Garmadon."

Lloyd's lips pressed into a thin line. He was _never_  called by his surname, for obvious reasons. "That's my father's name."

"In Japan," said Soren, conversationally, "Calling someone by their first name is a sign of close friendship," his smile had, at some point, turned into a smirk, "But I'm sure we'll get to that level at some point, Garmadon."

It was unnerving, being called that. Lloyd bit his tongue.

"Stop pestering them, Jerhys."

Lloyd froze. Something terrible churned in the pit of his stomach.

"Seamus!" Jay exclaimed, a smile lighting his face, "You're okay!"

Seamus hardly glanced at him. His face, which had previously been quite kind, was an unyielding mask. He stopped beside Soren, arms crossing over his chest, tapping his finger against his elbow impatiently.

Slowly, Jay's smile fell, "Seamus?"

The traitor didn't answer, as though Jay hadn't spoken at all, as though they weren't even there. His gaze was solely on Soren, impatient and annoyed.

"I held up by end of the deal," he said, "Now you hold up yours."

Zane looked from Seamus to Soren, then to Lloyd and back again. Realisation dawned in his electric blue eyes, and then a look of pure rage took over his face.

"You  _bastard!_ " he yelled, causing his siblings to gape at him, "You did this!"

"Hm," said Clouse, surprised, "It can swear."

"Don't call him an 'it'!" snapped Nya, her eyes a venomous glare.

"Why do you want it anyway, Carrot?" asked Soren, ignoring her. A terribly held back laugh stopped Seamus from answering and, as one, a thousand pair of eyes turned to look at Jay.

The lightning ninja's cheeks were puffed up, face slightly red. His shoulders shook with each suppressed laugh, but it didn't last long. He burst out into a fight of laughter, whooping and howling as though the funniest joke in the world had just been presented to him on a silver platter. Seamus and Soren looked at each other, then back at Jay.

"Y-Your name," Jay said between bursts of laughter, "I-Is C-Carrot?"

Seamus scowled, as Jay burst into another fit, doubling over, vengestone chains rattling against each other. After a long moment, he put his head back against the pole, a grin on his face, panting as he struggled to regain his breath, small giggles escaping every now and then.

Soren raised an eyebrow, "You done?"

Jay gave another little giggle, "Probably not."

Seamus rolled his eyes, "Ignore the idiot. My reasons are my own."

The grizzly man looked at him for a moment, Jay once again struggling to hold in his laughter, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'Carrot.' Soren glanced at the blue ninja without turning his head, and then gave Seamus a little nod.

It was with that nod that Seamus Dewer stripped away, his flesh from his bone, replaced by an entirely different person. The true Seamus Dewer, instead of the man that Lloyd had started to consider a friend. Instead of the man that he had pitied, he saw Carrot.

From his pocket, Carrot pulled out something shiny. For a moment, Lloyd thought it was a knife.

Then, in four quick strides, he was standing in front of Jay, who was still grinning. The ice cream scooper glinted in the torchlight as Carrot raised it, Zane's electric blue eyes flashing with what Lloyd recognised to be him contacting someone.

Lloyd saw Jay's face contort in confusion upon realising what was in Carrot's hand. He opened his mouth to say something, something Lloyd would never know. The Black Rags began to jitter excitedly, like an audience at a football game.

Jay's screams bounced off the walls as Carrot forced the ice cream scooper into his eye socket.

* * *

Kai lay on the couch, bored out of his mind. There was nothing interesting on the TV at this time of day, and the documentary he'd reluctantly put on was terribly dull.

Misako had long since gone out to assist with the aftermath of the blackout, and Wu had left for the store to get a certain type of tea that would 'make him feel like he was being caressed by the wind.' Kai, having some experience with a certain master of wind, did not find the thought all that pleasing.

Then the alarm started blaring and he fell off the couch.

With a few nasty swear words that would have earned him a whack over the head had Wu or Misako been present, Kai struggled to his feet, a hiss of breath slipping past clenched teeth as his legs burned and wobbled.

Stumbling like a toddler walking for the first time, Kai made his way to the bridge. His bandaged legs trembled and throbbed, scabs splitting and staining the previously white bandages with spots of red. The blare of the alarms was all he could hear, and was beginning to give him a headache.

He tripped, and his hand slammed into the bridge's control panel, thankfully switching off the alarm. Grimacing and muttering a few more swear words as his body tingled in protest, Kai forced himself to stand up, putting most of his weight on the control panel and squinting as the screen showed him a map of Ninjago.

A white dot flashed above the location of Stiix. Breath coming out in short gasps, Kai fumbled with his phone, hastily downloading the tracer. He looked left, then right, then down at his injured, pyjama-clad body.

Kai closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Opening his eyes, straightening as best he could without falling over, Kai began to make his way towards the cellar.

He was going to help this time.


	25. Treacherous

_Chapter Twenty-Five:_

Treacherous

* * *

Zane screamed.

It was a disgusting sight. All five of them were screaming at the top of their lungs. The ice cream scooper dug deeper, deeper, Carrot's hand forcefully keeping Jay's head in place. Blood gushed out of the socket and down the side of his face, covering the front of his blue gi and getting all over Carrot's hands.

Then, with the most sickening  _plop_ , Zane had ever heard, Jay's eyeball sat within the ice cream scooper, leaving a terrible, black hole where it had once been. Jay's face was covered in blood and tears. His mouth was wide open in a chest rattling scream.

On the floor, Lloyd bent to the side and vomited.

With a natural look on his face, as though he hadn't just plucked out a person's eyeball, Carrot pulled out a little plastic baggie and slid the eyeball inside it, gooey blood connecting them in thin strings like a cheesy pizza.

"You monsters!" Cole screamed, as he tried desperately to phase through his chains. But Zane had already realised that they weren't just vengestone. One link would be vengestone, then the next would be deepstone, and it continued like that in a never ending pattern. Restraints made especially for them.

Jay slumped, his bloody head rolling to the side. Nya screamed his name, thinking him dead, but he'd only passed out. Zane was surprised he hadn't done so sooner.

"Well," said Soren, looking down at Carrot, "You've got what you came for."

"Except for one thing," Carrot said, turning to face the man. He held out an expectant hand. "My pay?"

Soren's lips twitched. Silently, he unclipped a bag from his belt and, with the clanking together of coins inside, dropped it in Carrot's hand.

Smiling now, Carrot slipped the bag into his pocket, alongside Jay's eyeball. He glanced at the captured Ninja, at the bloody, passed out Jay, the still yelling Nya, the vomit dripping from Lloyd's chin. Zane had, at some point, started to silently cry, and Cole continued to struggle wildly.

Lloyd raised his head, ignoring the hair that fell into his face, giving Carrot an almost blank look. As though he'd detached himself from what was happening, but only partly. His voice was hoarse, quiet, but monotone.

"Why?"

Carrot stared at him. He flexed his hand. "Because," he said, finally, "You destroyed my life."

That said, he spun around and stalked to the other end of the hall, every single eye on him, until he vanished into one of the corridors. Zane hoped one of the traps would kill him.

"Now," said Soren, turning to face the Ninja, "Why don't-"

A bang cut him off. Loud, distant. The occupants in the hall fell into a startled silence, heads turning to look down the main corridor, the only one with torches in it. The banging grew louder, as did the whir of machinery. One of the ladders slipped off the wall, and a Black Rag yelled as they fell along with it. The water of the puddles wavered and flopped.

"What in the hell?" muttered Nya. Zane silently agreed with her.

Then it turned the corner and Zane's mouth fell open.

A familiar bright red mech ran towards them, shaking the cavern with every step and causing chunks of rock to fall from the ceiling. Flame throwers, attached to the mech's arms, whirred and fizzed into life.

All at once, the Black Rags began to scream.

"Kai!" Cole gasped.

The mech raised a flame devoured arm and slammed it down into a group of Black Rags, squishing them in a spray of brain matter and guts. Another Black Rag swung towards him from a conveniently attached rope, but Kai simply swatted him away as though he were an irritating fly, sending him flying into the uneven wall with a sickening crack as his spine shattered.

The Black Rags charged, throwing spears and rocks and shooting arrows at the mech, but they did little damage. Kai raised its mechanical arm once more and sent them soaring into the tables.

With a newfound energy, Zane began to struggle against his bonds, pushing against the pole. Nya and Cole were quick to follow suit, while Lloyd looked as though he was struggling to react to what was happening. Zane made a mental note to have a little chat with him once this was all over.

Kai picked up a handful of Black Rags and launched them into another group as though they were bowling pins, sending them scattering. The few unlucky enough to be too slow abruptly found themselves being used as landing cushions.

The Black Rags mostly cleared, Kai turned, the mech bending slightly at the waist so that he was eye-level with them from his seat in the chest cavity.

He was in civilian clothes, his gi having been destroyed and all during the explosion, and his bandages poked out from beneath his sleeves. He looked quite proud of himself.

Beside him, Nya gave an astonished laugh, "I can't  _believe_  you."

"As though I'd let you guys have all the fun," said Kai. He had the mech raise a giant hand, reaching for the chains wrapped around them. "Let's get you guys out of here-"

Something leapt onto the back of the mech, the audible  _thud_  causing Kai to jump. Blinking, he twisted in his seat to look at it, "What- ?"

Soren grabbed him by the hair, smacking the end of his knife to his forehead. Kai slumped, a bruise already forming above his eye. Lloyd yelled.

Grabbing a bunch of seemingly random wires, Soren yanked them out of the mech. With one final whir, it powered down, slumped to the side and fell over onto one of the tables, snapping it in half and demolishing the legs.

Whipping his hands on his pants, Soren tossed the knife away, casually descending from his perch on the mech. He looked from his hostages to the fallen Kai, then, with an amused humph, nodded towards the few Black Rags that weren't gravely injured.

"Clean this mess up," he said, strolling towards one of the doors, "And throw them in with the others."

Zane glared at the back of his head, teeth clenching. Beneath his chains, his hands curled into fists, little bits of frost starting to creep up his fingers like a dying breath.

He'd gone too far.

* * *

When Echo opened his eyes, it was to intense pain. He lay there for a long moment, a grimace on his face, taking deep breaths as though it would make it go away.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath, held it and forced himself to sit up. It took him a few tries, his arms trembling with the effort, but eventually, he was able to sit up against a tree.

Once he'd regained his breathing, Echo took a look at his surroundings. He was in some type of clearing. The sky above him was clear and blue, and there was a chill in the air that signalled the sun had only rose recently. A pile of sticks and kindling sat a few steps away from him, and the fluffy creature he'd rode stood munching on grass on the other side of the clearing. He wondered where Kaze had gone.

Gently touching his cheek and wincing as the action caused pain to spike, he allowed his hands to drop into his lap. His gaze skimmed over the little blades of grass sticking out of the ground, and stopped as he spotted a little white flower with a yellow centre.

Giving a little hum of curiosity- for there had been very few plants at the lighthouse- Echo leant over to get a better look at it. It was quite pretty, he decided. His fogged yellow eyes wandered about the grass again, and he began to spot more of the little flowers, many of them actually, dotted about all around him. Some weren't even fully bloomed.

Kaze returned a short time later with an armful of sticks and a hand stained blue from the berries in his palm. He gave Echo a small smile, which fell into a confused blink when he realised he was covered in daisies. Deciding not to question it, he dropped the sticks into the pile and sat down, separating the berries into even groups for them to share.

"Here you go," he said, holding out some berries and dropping them into Echo's hand.

"What are these?" the droid asked.

"Breakfast."

Realising just how  _hungry_  he was, the berries vanished from Echo's hands in a matter of moments. Disappointed, he looked at Kaze hopefully, wanting more. The escapee gave a small shrug, chewing on his last berry.

"Sorry, pal," he said, swallowing, "I'll get some more in a little while, okay?"

Echo nodded sadly and returned to his daisies.

Kaze took this time to try and light a fire. He attempted to rub two sticks against each other, but he was quick to abandon this technique. He then proceeded to beat the sticks with another stick, but that didn't really work out either.

Something was placed on his head, and Kaze spun around, stick held up like a sword. Echo smiled at him, a proud glint in his eyes. Blinking slowly, Kaze raised his other hand and touched the thing on his head.

"Do you like it?" asked Echo.

Bewildered, Kaze dropped the stick and took off the object. It was... a flower crown. Daisies bond together by their stems carefully yet messily, forming a large ring that would fit perfectly on one's head.

Abruptly, he realised Echo was still waiting for an answer. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Slowly, Echo's smile fell.

"Oh..." he said, shoulders slumping, "I... I thought maybe... sorry."

"No!" said Kaze hastily, wincing when Echo jumped back in surprise, "I, uh... no. I do like it."

Echo's eyes widened hopefully, "Really?"

Kaze nodded and, after a brief moment of hesitation, sat the flower crown back on his head, "There, see? It's... I like it."

The smile that appeared on Echo's face was worth it.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, "I'm gonna make one for Fluffy now!"

Kaze blinked, as Echo stumbled back to his spot and began to pick more daisies. He glanced at the yack, who was now lying in the grass.

"Fluffy?" he repeated.

Fluffy snorted, before laying his head down for a rest.

Kaze shook his head slowly, wondering how on earth he'd gotten to where he was now. Looking down at what was supposed to be a blazing fire, he sighed. He supposed they should probably get moving anyway.

"What's that noise?" asked Echo abruptly, the beginnings of a daisy chain in his hands.

"What noise?" Kaze asked. Then he heard it. The sound of blades swishing through the air at a deadly speed.

His hair was blown out of his face by a sudden wind. Leaves were sent flying. Small branches looked in danger of following. Fluffy raised his massive head with a startled whine, his fur getting blown into his eyes. The flower crown went soaring from Kaze's head.

Then it appeared. A black smudge against the sky. It took Kaze a moment to realise it was a machine, similar to a helicopter but different in quite a few ways. Almost like a flying boat.

A net shot out of the hatch, tangling Kaze in its thick rope and causing him to fall to the ground with a yell. Echo screamed something he couldn't decipher, and through the gaps of rope he saw the flying thing- which looked more like a large helicopter rather than a boat now that he could see it properly- begin to hover just above the trees.

 _"Well, well, well,"_  said a booming, terribly familiar voice,  _"Look's like I've found the little runaways."_

"Echo,  _RUN!_ " Kaze yelled, struggling wildly in his bonds. Echo tried to scramble to his feet, but this only ended in him falling over.

 _"Oh, no,"_  the voice boomed,  _"You're not going anyway."_

Another net shot from the hatch, wrapping around Echo, who gave a terrified cry. Except, this one was still attached to the helli-ship. Kaze watched, horrified, as the rope was reeled in faster than a striking snake, and with a scream, Echo was dragged across the dirt, into the air and vanished up into the hatch.

"NO!" Kaze raised his hand, trying to summon it, trying to do what he'd done in the lake. But if he did anything, it wasn't noticed, not even by himself.

Frustrated, Kaze smacked his hand against the ground, tugging at the rope, "Give him back!"

 _"It doesn't work like that, pal,"_  said Carrot,  _"Besides, the little fella's gotta be worth a few good coins."_

"Give him back, Carrot!" screamed Kaze, spitting the name as though it were venom, "Give him back or I'll slit your bloody throat!"

 _"Oooh, I'm so scared,"_  Carrot mocked,  _"You can barely stand, Kaze,"_  the name was spat, much like Kaze had done with his,  _"Let alone fight."_

"We'll see about that, jackass!"

Carrot gave a small snort, as though the very thought amused him,  _"I've got places to be. I don't have time to play about."_

A disgruntled yell tore from Kaze's throat, his struggles renewing. He heard a scream from inside the helli-ship, one with a mechanical ring to it that could only be done by a droid. The helli-ship lifted upwards, higher and higher.

Then it was gone.

Kaze lay there for a long time. Fluffy got up at some point, the rope that had tied him to the tree having come undone at some point, and began to sniff through the abandoned daisies that Echo had been making into a flower crown.

He began to wiggle about, pulling and tugging at the ropes. He wasn't sure how long he did it for. On more than one occasion, he stopped and just lay there again in defeat, before eventually picking it back up again. Slowly, Kaze wiggled out of the net. By the time he had struggled to his feet, the sun was high in the sky.

Fluffy had wandered off, but he could see his mangy fur through the trees as he found a new patch of grass to feast on. Kaze searched through the grass, and found the flower crown partly obscured by leaves, its stem snapped.

With an odd burning behind his eyes that he hadn't felt for a very, very long time, Kaze carefully folded the chain into a ball, then tucked it into his pocket.

He glanced at the sky. Then to the sticks he'd attempted to make into a fire.

Face contorting with a look of pure rage, Kaze raised a foot and kicked the pile in a spray of snapping wood.


	26. Tears

_Chapter Twenty-Six:_

Tears

* * *

When they were dragged into the hall of cells, the prisoners raised their heads only because of the sounds of a struggle. Gasps and exclamations almost immediately lit the hall with noise, and the word Ninja was thrown to and fro between the cells.

Lloyd watched as Zane, Nya and Jay were thrown into one cell, while Cole, Kai and himself were thrown into the one beside them. His skin caught and tore on the rough stone of the floor, a pained hiss leaving his lips as the cell door was slammed shut behind them.

He raised his head, hands bound in vengestone chains, glaring the best he could at the silent guards through the haze of his concussion. They turned and left without a word, and there was the distant slam of the door closing.

"Lloyd!"

He was almost certain his heart had stopped. Lloyd's head snapped towards the sound of the voice, just in time for Nelson to ram into him in a bruise forming hug.

"You've come to rescue us!" his voice was loud in his ear, and Lloyd winced as it caused his head to spike, but that didn't stop him from returning the hug. Albeit not as forcefully.

There was a gasp, quickly followed by a scream. Startled, Lloyd jumped, Nelson still in his arms, and twisted around to see Nya pulling Jay's bloody head into her lap on the other side of the bars. She was whispering things he couldn't catch, carefully cleaning the blood from his face with a ripped cloth that appeared to have come from her own shirt, a ball of water in her palm. It was slightly awkward with her wrists chained together, but she was managing.

Nelson gasped, and Lloyd was quick to block his view.

Zane hovered over their injured brother, his eyes flashing as he scanned him. Jay groaned, but didn't wake up, his face grimacing in pain even in sleep. The kidnapped civilians began to whisper and mutter to each other, the eyes of children hastily being covered.

A hand curled around Lloyd's arm, and his eyes met with Cole's. He gently pushed Nelson back, before throwing Lloyd's arms around his shoulder and helping him stand, quite an awkward task if he said so himself. Almost immediately, Lloyd's legs began to shake and his vision flashed white. Grunting, he fell, but Cole was able to catch him before he hit the floor, and would have winced had he been human and felt the chains cutting into his neck.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Cole decided to screw it and scooped Lloyd up, one arm sliding under his knee and his other around his back, his own deepstone chain tightening painfully and holding firm. On any other occasion, Lloyd would have been enraged, or at the very least embarrassed. But as of that moment, he was too tired to care.

Cole sat him down against the bars linking theirs and the others cells, a cold drop of water slipping down his collar and sliding down his spine like a chilling finger. The bars were terribly uncomfortable, but Lloyd doubted the rough walls would be any better.

He watched with a muddled brain as Cole dragged an unconscious Kai to sit next to him, checking his pulse and letting out a relieved breath when he was able to find it. Cole rearranged their red brother's limbs so he was more comfortable (as comfortable as you could get in their current position, anyway), before sitting back on his haunches and, after a moment of wondering what he should do now, sighed and sat down on Lloyd's other side.

"Are... Are you okay?"

Lloyd cracked open an eye, wondering, at the back of his mind, when he'd closed them. A woman, fairly pretty, had spoken, casting a concerned gaze over the three injured ninja.

"We'll be fine," Lloyd croaked, almost automatically. Beside him, Cole shifted, but didn't disagree.

His eyes found Nelson, who was watching them with wide eyes, his face stark white. A young Serpentine- a Hypnobrai, he remembered- was whispering to him, but Nelson didn't seem to be listening. The Hypnobrai was strangely familiar, but Lloyd couldn't put his finger on why.

"Let me see him," at the new voice, Lloyd struggled to turn around, shifting so he could peek through the bars behind him. A man in the others cell had approached Jay, Zane and Nya, who were shooting him weary looks. He sent them a small smile.

"It's alright, I'm a doctor."

After sharing a look with each other, then with Cole, Nya and Zane reluctantly allowed the doctor to come closer. He knelt beside Jay, placing a hand on his forehead. Lloyd watched as he readjusted limbs, peered into the hole where his eye had once been. At one point, he took the rag from Nya and whipped away some of the dry blood.

The doctor spoke as he worked, telling them what he was doing, but there were too many confusing words and technical terms that Lloyd's concussed brain couldn't keep up. He instead took to watching, even if he couldn't properly understand what was going on. He'd just have to trust the others to make sure the doctor didn't do more harm than good.

Eventually, he heard Kai groan beside him, and turned to face him just as he blearily opened his eyes. Sitting up stiffly, Kai rubbed at what was probably a  _very_ sore neck, looking around in a confused haze that Lloyd was almost certain he himself had been wearing for most of the night.

"Wha... What's happened?" Kai asked, tongue thick in his mouth.

"You got knocked upside the head," said Cole, not unkindly, "Be careful. We're not sure how bad the damage is."

With another groan, Kai laid his head back against the bars, closing his eyes. Lloyd glanced at Cole, before returning his attention to the doctor, just in time to see him pulling away from Jay, who was sporting a makeshift bandage-cloth over his bloody socket.

"I'm afraid that's the best I can do," the doctor sighed, "It should stop it getting infected, at the very least," he glanced at Lloyd, then Kai, "I can take a look at you two, if you want."

"I'm fine," said Lloyd, weakly gesturing to Kai, "Check him."

Zane, Nya and Cole sent him looks that he wasn't bothered to decipher. The doctor seemed unconvinced, but said nothing. He arranged Jay into a straight out position the best he could with such an uneven and uncomfortable floor (which, Lloyd registered at the back of his mind, was digging into his bum and thighs), his head levitated on Nya's lap, before standing up and making his way over to the bars.

"Could you lay him out for me?" he asked, "So I can see him better."

Cole stood, making his way over to Kai, and knelt next to him. Gently taking him by the shoulders, and muttering that it was only him when he stiffened, Cole laid Kai against his chest, so that he faced sideways to the bars. The doctor peered through, his face pressed against the cold metal, and frowned.

"Those burns need ointment," he said, "And from that bruise, he could have a concussion."

"He was taking painkillers," Zane supplied, "I believe we were told to apply an ointment to his burns twice a day."

"Does he have it with him?" the doctor asked, "They could get infected if we don't put ointment on them. Especially since we don't know how long we'll be here."

Lloyd shared a worrisome look with Cole. When Kai made no move to answer, his even breathing signalling he'd fallen asleep again, Cole began to dig his hands into his pockets. He came up with a lighter (as far as Lloyd knew, Kai didn't smoke (Wu and Misako would kill him even if he did), but he'd told him that it was always handy to have a lighter on you; Lloyd suspected he just thought it was cool), a ripped piece of paper and a candy wrapper. But no ointment.

"Great," sighed Nya, "Just  _great_."

"But it's okay, right?" piped up Nelson, "You came to get us out of here, didn't you? This is all a part of your master plan?"

Lloyd shared a look with Cole, not sure what to say. He twisted a little to look at Zane and Nya, the nindroid giving him a sad frown and Nya simply shaking her head. He glanced at the Jay, who's breathing was off and ragged, then to Kai, who was in even worse condition, his face a grimace of pain.

Reluctantly, he turned back to Nelson, who looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Lloyd's head spiked.

"We, uh..." he grimaced, rubbing at his temples, "We're working on it."

Nelson's face fell, and he stepped closer to the Hypnobrai- who, Lloyd abruptly realised, was none other than Skales Jr. Taken aback, he dropped his hand back to his side.

"Skales Jr?" he said, the Serpentines head snapping towards him, "Skales's kid?"

Jr scowled at him, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Lloyd ignored the comment, twisting around and peering through the bars of the cells. People were crowded around them, trying to get a look at the Ninja, their eyes just as wide and hopeful as Nelson's had been. Lloyd swallowed thickly. There were no Serpentine.

"Lloyd?" Cole said, directing the green ninja's attention to him, "What is it?"

He didn't answer, sitting there for a long moment, his throbbing brain taking a moment to process his own thoughts. Again, he rubbed at his temples, but it did very little to help. He'd been doing that a lot, lately.

"There's no Serpentine here," he said, finally, turning his gaze to Skales Jr. Cole shared a confused look with Zane and Nya. "How did you get in here, Skales?"

Skales Jr blinked at him, his eyes briefly connecting with Nelson's, before they both, in near perfect unison, turned back to face Lloyd.

"He, uh," he poked Nelson in the shoulder, "He snuck me in."

"He snuck you in?" said Cole; then, to Nelson, "You snuck him in?"

Sucking on his bottom lip, Nelson nodded. Bile rose to the back of Lloyd's throat.

"How?" he croaked.

The two kids looked at each other again, seemingly unsure how to answer. Behind him, the doctor spoke him, startling him.

"When we were brought in," the doctor said, "We were all put into this large room, the Serpentine and us. Then more of these Basilisk's came in and took the Serpentine away... as though they were animals."

"They had tranquillizer guns," a teenager spoke up, who Lloyd quickly realised was the one that had been in the back of the van with Nelson. What was his name again? Henry? "They shot anyone that struggled or tries to stop them."

"Anyone that got in their way," said a woman quietly. She was hugging two children, a boy and a girl, one on either side. Twins. Lloyd blinked at them dully, recognising them at the back of his mind, but not fully registering it.

"They had these stick things with shiny hoops at the end," explained Nelson, trying- and failing- to draw a picture of them with his finger in thin air, "And they'd wrap the hooks around the Serpentine's necks and drag them away."

Skales Jr scuffed the uneven floor with a foot, crossing his arms, "Nelson gave me his ninja suit to hide my face."

"It's called a gi," Nelson corrected.

Cole raised an eyebrow, "How long have you two known each other?"

"We were left in that room for hours," said the mother, "We had even begun tossing about escape plans. We didn't really get anywhere, though."

"What did you see?" asked Zane.

"Not a lot," said a man Lloyd didn't know, "The room was big, but bare. The door was made of iron and we couldn't hear anything on the other side," he shook his head, "They took us in groups. First the Serpentine, then us."

"What do you mean by groups?" Cole questioned, as the doctor began to feel Kai's forehead, chest and back for a temperature.

A woman answered this time, a baby cradled in her arms, "They'd come in, usually in twos or threes, and take eight of us. I don't know what they did with the Serpentine, but we were brought here."

"A guard came by a few hours ago," piped the teenager, a tad nervously, "He threw bread into our cells and then left."

"That's it?" asked Nya, "Just a bit of bread for you's to share?"

The mother gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes, hugging her twins closer, "We split it between the kids."

Nya returned the small smile, then lowered her head, beginning to pick the dried blood out of Jay's hair, the smile immediately falling. Cole frowned at her, then turned back to Kai, shifting him into a more comfortable position against his chest.

"Can you do anything for him?" he asked the doctor.

The doctor sighed, adjusting his glasses, "If we must, we can redo his bandages with a clean cloth, but other than that, I'm afraid all I can really do is try to make him comfortable to the best of my ability in these circumstances."

Lloyd sighed, pressing his forehead to the cool bars. It felt nice against his pounding temple and reduced his headache, if only slightly. He spotted Cole and the doctor exchanging looks, but opted to ignore it and close his eyes.

He must have been half asleep when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder, forcing him back to awareness far sooner than he would have liked. Lloyd cracked open his eyes, scowling, and was met with the almost stern face of the doctor.

"Let me check you." Even with the drill whirring away at the inside of his skull, Lloyd was well aware that this was not a request.

He didn't protest when the doctor pulled a key chain out of his pants pocket, the metal clang loud even over the quiet murmur of the other prisoners. He selected something red and oval shaped, holding it in his hand and leaving everything else on the key chain to dangle.

"I'm going to shine this in your eye," he said, holding up the oval thing, "Don't close them, okay?"

He didn't wait for an answer, and Lloyd wondered if he'd even expected him to give one. The doctor pressed the button with his thumb, and a bright, white light blinded his vision. Lloyd grunted, automatically clenching his eyes shut and leaning away from the light, the pain in his forehead pounding anew against his brain with even more force than before.

A metallic hand gripped his chin, forcing him to turn his head.

"You have to keep your eyes open, Lloyd."

He gritted his teeth, pressing his forehead against the cool bars. After a moment, he braced himself and forced his eyes open. The doctor had ceased the light, but seeing this he leant forwards, reaching a hand through the bars to keep one of his eyelids open.

The light was shone in his eyes again, and the one Lloyd was able to close did so almost immediately. He tried to lean away again, but Zane's hand kept his head in place. It felt like an eternity before the doctor pulled the light away and tucked his key chain back in his pocket, but in reality, it couldn't have been more than a minute.

"Concussion," the doctor confirmed, "A bruise on the brain, either on the forehead or somewhere at the back. It's hard to tell without the right equipment."

He glanced from Zane to Cole, since they were the only two that were uninjured. Nya was listening, but she said nothing, something that would have worried Lloyd had he been in the right state of mind to properly acknowledge it.

"There's nothing I can do for him either," the doctor sighed, giving them a regretful look, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," said Cole, "It's..." he seemed to try and think of something else to say, but he came up with nothing. He simply shook his head. "It's alright."

"No," the doctor sighed again, sitting back and regarding the Ninja with a mournful gaze. He turned his eyes to the uneven floor, staring at a small dark puddle in a groove without seeing it.

"I don't think it is."

* * *

Echo trembled, huddled into a tight ball. His dulled eyes watched the man with something akin to terror, heart giving off broken, uneven little ticks. The man didn't seem to notice, or maybe he just didn't care.

"You know," Echo jumped at the sudden speaking, heart ticking louder. If the man noticed, he ignored it, "You look nothing like Zane."

He didn't answer, tongue stuck in his throat. The man continued without fuss.

"It makes me wonder how those idiots actually mistook you for him," said the man. Besides his voice, the helli-ship was surprisingly quiet, with nothing but the hum of the jets. "You're not even made of titanium. Hell," he laughed, "You're hardly more than an old fashioned clock."

Again, Echo gave no answer, huddling deeper into his ball. The net that had dragged him onto the ship was still wrapped around him, and he wasn't sure whether or not he was grateful for this. It made him feel safe, if only slightly, as though it were a forcefield protecting him from the man and wherever he was being taken. A shudder ran up his spine and, had he been able to, he would have been crying.

He didn't want to go back to the labyrinth. To make matters worse, he wouldn't even have Kaze.

That terrified him even more than the man did.

For a moment, there was nothing but the faint hum of the jets. The man snorted.

"You probably don't even know what I'm saying," he looked up at the little mirror above the console, watching him in the reflection, "You're nothing more than a dumb machine. Why the hell were they so desperate to get you back?"

Once more, Echo gave no answer. None even came to mind. The man didn't seem to be expecting one, though, for he shook his head slowly. He turned a little in his seat, looking over his shoulder at him. Echo's heart ticked ever faster, turning into a rock and tangling his circuits. He leant further against the wall, as though that would shield him from the man's gaze.

To his surprise, however, the man wasn't sneering or jeering or being all that nasty. If anything, he looked curious, maybe even a bit sympathetic. His hair was streaked green.

He wanted Kaze.

"But maybe you weren't always like this," the man muttered, more to himself than Echo, "Maybe he just... broke you."

They stared at each other. Then, as though snapping himself from his own thoughts, the man returned to the console.

He didn't speak again.

Echo buried his head in his knees. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper, hardly audible even to his own ears. The man didn't even turn.

"Hello, ma baby... hello, ma honey. Hello, ma ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire... honey, my heart's on fire..." something shifted behind his eyes, like a ball that had been trying to squeeze itself through a cube-shaped hole all its life finally finding the right slot.

"If you refuse me, honey you'll lose me, then you'll be left alone... oh baby, telephone..." he clenched his eyes shut, raising a fist to his eyelid, singing past the lump in his throat "And tell me I's your own."

He cried.


	27. Scrapped

_Chapter Twenty-Seven:_

Scrapped

* * *

Echo didn't raise his head as the aircraft settled on the ground, nor did he move when the engine began to die. He remained still, trapped in the thick ropes of the net, even as the man's footsteps came closer.

He came to a stop in front of the droid. A beat passed, and Echo began to hope that maybe he thought he was broken, and would just toss him out and leave. This hope was extinguished, however, when he received a sharp kick to the side.

Pain flared up his ribs, and Echo gasped, falling over onto his side. He curled into a ball, clutching his side and shaking, mouth open in a silent gasp. He heard the man scoff.

He grabbed the net, dragging Echo out of his safe little corner. His metallic parts scraped against the floor loudly, a painful ring to the ears, and even though he was scared, the ticking of his heart quickened only slightly. As though it were getting tired.

Echo just wanted to go to sleep. Wake up somewhere else.  _Anywhere_ else, as long as it was safe. Even if it was the lighthouse.

He was dragged outside the aircraft, into grass and dirt and gravel. Echo winced, but didn't move, didn't struggle. He looked up at the sky, a bright baby blue, hardly a cloud in sight. His clockwork heart clenched. He was starting to miss the lighthouse a little. It may have been lonely, but the view had been spectacular.

The man dragged him under a large, neon sign that flickered occasionally, but Echo wasn't able to get a good enough look at it to read it. He craned his neck, trying to get a better look at his surroundings, which was quite the difficult task.

Piles of scrap, tires and half torn apart cars were littered everywhere. A barbed wire fence vanished behind a particularly large pile, but Echo was able to see no more. Then, finally and yet all too soon, the man came to a stop.

"Ed? Ed, there's a man at the door."

The voice was feminine, and came from somewhere in front of him. Echo tried to twist and see them, but the man delivered a swift kick to his stomach, and he stilled.

"Hm? Oh, so there is, dear. I'll be back in a moment."

There was the sound of creaking steps, then of shoes on gravel. Echo didn't move, heart ticking like a time-bomb. He clenched his eyes shut.

"Well, hello, there!" said the approaching person, "How can I help ya?"

"I've got some spare parts I'd like to sell," answered the man, tugging on the net a little. Echo squinted open his eyes, just in time to see a smiling man in oil stained dungarees with greying hair lean over his captor. Their eyes locked, and the man's smile fell, mouth opening in shock.

"Uh..."

"I know it looks a little beat up," said the man, a tad hurridly, "But it's in working order, and it's got some handy spare parts in it."

"Spare... spare parts?" repeated the oil stained man, as though dazed. Smiling now, his captor nodded.

"Yes! So, you wanna buy 'em? My price isn't all that high, ya know."

"I... uh..." the mechanic seemed at a lost for words. Before his tongue could catch up with his brain, however, there was the thud of heavy footsteps, the whir of mechanical legs. Echo twisted in the net best he could, the two men turned towards the direction of the sudden noise.

"What was that?" asked his captor. He had tensed, legs coiled as though in preparation for a run.

Before the mechanic could even think of an answer, it appeared. Blazing red and metallic grey, hands big enough to pick up a car, a cage around the seat in form of protection. A man sat in the seat, a man Echo recognised, with shoulder length hair and one working eye.

"Hey, Ed," greeted Ronin, "Just came to check up on yo-" He cut himself off, finally taking in the scene before him. His eye darted from Echo, to his captor, to Ed the Mechanic, then back to Echo. Slowly, his gaze trailed back up to the man.

"Seamus?"

Ed blinked, mouth opening, "This- That slave-guy? The one Jay was telling me about?"

The man's eyes darted back and forth in a moment of panic. Then, jaw setting, he turned to glare up at Ronin. The mercenary's one eye widened, then narrowed.

"Wait a minute," he said, "It was you! You're-" his eye darted to his green streaked hair, then back to his face, "You're Carrot."

Behind them, Ed made a funny noise that sounded suspiciously like a stifled laugh, "C-Carrot?"

'Carrot' stood there for a moment. Then, dropping the net trapping Echo, he darted underneath Ronin's mech. The mercenary jumped, having trouble twisting his mech around at the others sudden action.

The man skidded to stop and, placing two fingers to his lips, blew a sharp whistle. Echo winced, the high-pitched noise penetrating his ears and causing them to throb. Then, in the distance, there was the blast of a firing engine, and the helli-ship rose into the sky, zipping towards them like a fighter jet.

It landed swiftly on the ground, and then shifted, morphing, bits of metal sticking out and then back in, getting taller, taller, until it stood three feet higher than Ronin's mech.

Carrot climbed expertly into the new mech, jumping into the seat, a glass dome encasing him in a protective shield. On the ground, Ed let out a long breath, "Oh, dear, here we go again."

"I'm surprised, Ronin," said Carrot, voice amplified through a speaker with a robotic ting, "You were never one to work for the goods guys."

Ronin scowled, "Yeah, well, things have changed. Doesn't look like I can say the same for you, though."

"Change," said Carrot, "Is not always a good thing."

"You're right," Ronin's voice softened, unexpectantly, but only slightly, "But sometimes it's gotta be done."

Carrot snorted, "For what? For the better? I haven't changed, Ronin, and I won't be changing anytime soon. I'm going to kill them," his voice rang true with promise, hardening in only a way someone with a ripped out heart can, "And I'll take down anyone that stands in my way."

He lunged.

Ronin gasped, jerking out of the way in the nick of time. He raised his mech's arm, the gun whizzing to life, and the blast of bullets rang in the air. Carrot ducked behind a pile of scrap.

Hands grabbed the net, and Echo's head snapped to the side to see it was Ed the Mechanic. He tugged with surprising strength, towards a caravan, where a woman had emerged.

"Ed? Ed, dear, what's that noise? Is it Jay again?"

"Uh, yes, dear," Ed the Mechanic grunted, "I do suppose this is Ninja business again."

"Oh, well, who is it-" the woman stopped, eyes widening as they reached the bottom of the stairs, "Is that Zane?"

"No, no," said Ed, shaking his head as he hoisted Echo up the stairs as carefully as possible, the nindroid wincing as he banged his aching parts against it, "It's- Well, Edna, I think it's his little brother."

The woman- Edna- blinked, hands going to her mouth, "Oh, dear, the poor thing."

Behind them, there was a massive  _CRASH!_ Echo's head snapped around just in time to see Ronin's mech stumble to his feet, having landing and squashed a partly repaired car. He raised a ginormous hand and blocked one of Carrot's punches, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying to the ground.

"Let's get him inside, dear," Ed gasped, almost sounding out of breath. He began to tug Echo towards the door. "We need to call Jay."

"But isn't he on that little trip looking for those meanie-enemies of his?" asked Edna, holding the door open so the mechanic could drag Echo inside, "I told Jay to call once he got back."

"Get Sensei Wu on the phone, then, dear," grunted Ed. The caravan was surprisingly spacious, a decent place for two or three people. The dragging came to a stop in the middle of the floor, and Ed ran over to a bench, where he pulled out a red box and began to ruffle through it. Edna already had the phone to her ear.

Outside, there was another  _CRASH!_ but while Echo's head snapped towards the door, he couldn't see through it, as it had been closed. He wondered, at the back of his mind, if Zane could see through walls. He was certainly advanced enough.

"Here we are!" a pair of scissors appeared inches from Echo's face, causing him to flinch. Then they bit down on a bit of the net, struggling with it for a moment, twisting, before the rope snapped in two.

Ed did this again, and again, until there was a gap big enough for Echo to crawl through. Hastily, grimacing as his entire body flared with a burning agony that left him groaned and panting, Echo scrambled from the net, kicking his feet when they became tangled. Ed grabbed the rope and tugged him free.

Trembling (he couldn't remember when he'd started; had he been doing it this entier time?), Echo scrambled away from him, his back hitting a cupboard, breaths coming out in short, terrified gasps. Ed approached him hesitantly, hands up in something like surrender, a kind smile on his ageing face.

"Hey, hey, it's alright now," he said, gently, "What's your name again? Echo-Zane, was it?"

Echo swallowed, nodding slowly. The mechanic's smile grew.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Echo-Zane," he said, "My name's Ed. That's Edna," he gestured with his head towards the woman, who smiled and gave a small wave from where she still had the phone to her ear, "My wife. We're Jay's parents."

He blinked, slowly, processing this information. Neither of them looked that much like Jay, but, then again, neither he nor Zane shared much resemblance to their father. Ed the Mechanic inched closer, that kind smile still on his face.

When Echo didn't try to get away, he took this as a good sign and placed a careful hand on his knee, giving it a comforting squeeze. Echo forced himself to relax, but while the trembling lessened, it didn't cease.

"He's not picking up, dear," said Edna. A small explosion went off somewhere outside.

"Keep trying," Ed instructed, before turning back to Echo, concern flashing across his eyes, "Oh, dear, you're in bad shape. Let me get my tools, I'll have you better in a jiffy."

Ed shot to his feet, unknowingly causing Echo to jump, and ran over to the toolbox on the bench. He grabbed it, moving it onto the floor, as Edna began talking to whoever was on the phone. Wiping his hands on his oil stained dungarees, Ed turned to Echo, offering the broken bot a hand.

Echo stared at it for a long moment, sceptical. Then there was another  _BANG!_ outside and he jumped, taking the offered hand and allowing himself to be hauled to his feet.

Ed helped him over to the bench (in an achingly similar way to how Kaze had helped him through the corridors), hoisted him onto it with relative ease. Echo blinked, wondering, at the back of his mind, if everyone was really strong or if he was just really, really light.

"There we go," said Ed, guiding him onto his back so that he was lying down. He looked over at Edna, giving her a questioning look. She mouthed 'Misako.' He nodded.

"Okay, buddy," Ed said, reaching down and grabbing something Echo couldn't see, "I need ya to stay still for me, alright?"

Echo swallowed, the trembling starting anew. He stared firmly at the ceiling, pushing away how familiar this position was. He'd been fixed multiple times on a table by someone else, from Zane, Gizmo, Jay and Nya. But he'd also been broken this way, by the scary man with the mutilated hands.

A wrinkled hand was placed on his forehead, a gesture that might have meant to be comforting or was simply to keep him still. Whatever its purpose, Echo took comfort in it never the less. His heart ticked loudly as the mechanic did his work, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut. There would be the occasional crash, the groan of bending metal, an explosion of bullets from outside.

"Misako says she's coming to get him," Edna said, at one point, "And that she'll try to get ahold of Jay and his friends."

"That's good, dear," said Ed, not looking up from Echo's mechanical guts, "Why don't you make the little guy something while we wait? Didn't Zane like that oil soup you made him?" An explosion rocked the caravan, Echo's breath hitching. The Walkers, however, seemed unphased.

"Oh, yes, I'll get right on it," Edna said, quite cheerfully for someone whose house was the current battlefield for two giant robots, "How's he coming along?"

"He's pretty banged up, but I'll have him up and running in no time," the mechanic declared, giving the hand still on Echo's forehead a small pat, "Won't we, Echo?"

Hesitantly, he peeked open an eye, sending him a small smile. He was starting to like this man. He was... nice. Ed smiled back.

Echo lay there for a while longer, Edna humming as she worked on something in the kitchen. Ed would remove his hand from his forehead at times when he needed to use it for something, but whenever he wasn't, it would be on his forehead. Outside, the fighting continued.

Finally, Ed made a victorious noise, quickly followed by a clicking noise as his chest cavity was closed, "There we are! Is that better?"

Blinking, Echo sat up slowly, experimentally moving his arms and legs. They didn't ache, weren't twisted nor dirty. He felt good as new.

A wide grin split his no longer cracked faceplate, and Echo leapt from the table, almost toppling over on his own feet. Ed reached out and put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Wow, slow down," he laughed, "Take it easy, buddy. You're still a bit dented up."

"Here we are, dearie," said Edna, setting a bowl of something black and sloppy on the coffee table, "Why don't you come sit over here while we wait for Misako, hm?"

Outside, there was yet another skull rattling  _crash!_ Echo was led to the couch by the mechanic, where he sat down and almost immediately found himself wrapped in a blue knitted blanket. The 'oil soup,' as they called it, was the best thing Echo had ever tasted. It was gone within moments.

"Wow, you must've been hungry," Ed said, "Want some more?"

At Echo's nod, he smiled and took the bowl, leaving to refill it. Echo wiped the black stains from his mouth, licking his lips. He felt as though he could keep eating forever. He hadn't been this ecstatic in far too long.

He was going  _home_.

Ed returned with more oil soup, handing the refilled bowl to an eager Echo. He slurped up another spoonful immediately, mumbling a 'thank you' through a full mouth. Ed gave a small, amused laugh.

There was another  _CRASH!_ Quickly followed by a  _BANG!_ Echo very nearly spilt his soup down his front when the caravan rocked back and forth, Edna almost casually picking up a few ornaments to avoid them shattering on the floor.

"Shouldn't we be helping him?" asked Echo, as, outside the window, Ronin's mech came flying from the other side of the junkyard and crash landed in the dirt, leaving a small crater behind. From the mech's seat came a loud string of words he'd heard Jay use whenever he stubbed his toe or something.

"Don't worry about that, dearie," said Edna, tucking the blanket closer around him, "You just eat your soup."

Echo hummed softly at that, and obediently returned to his warm oil soup. Like before, it was gone within moments.

As Ed left to get him some more soup, Echo wiped his mouth, looking out the window- and froze.

Standing next to a smashed car, head cocked to the side as they watched him from behind a ragged shawl, was a White Rag. The symbol 水 was on their forehead in a dark blue. Water.

Echo's heart ticked louder, Edna frowning and looking around for the source of the noise. He was frozen where he sat, unable to look away. Water's white eyes crinkled in a small smile. They raised their hand and waved.

Then the car exploded.

The blast sent the caravan tumbling onto its side. The windows shattered in sprays of shards. He heard Edna and Ed screaming, the smash of glass and the breaking of furniture, tools scattering every. Then everything was upside down, and he was being tossed like a rag doll, and everything was a churning mess of confusion, round and round and round-

He slammed into the wall, the breath leaving his lungs, and he fell to the floor- well, the ceiling. Echo lay there for a long moment, gasping, trembling, the foreign prick of tears at the back of his eyes.

With a quiet whimper, Echo forced himself upright, hardly registering the tears tricking down his cheeks. He looked around, at the shattered glass and broken furniture. Bringing his hand to his mouth, he let out a small sob, stumbling to his feet.

Spotting Edna lying a few feet away, he tumbled over on numb legs, falling to her side. He tried to feel for a pulse, but he was trembling too much to be certain. Instead, he pressed his ear to her chest. A shaky, relieved sigh. A heartbeat.

Taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, wiping the liquid pouring from his eyes, Echo pulled himself to his feet- fell- got back up again. Stumbling and tripping as though the floor was moving from side to side, he reached the shattered window and, careful not to cut himself, forced his way through.

He needed to go find Ronin. He needed his help to get them out of there, he- he needed  _someone._   _Anyone_ at this point.

Heart ticking tocking in his ears, he began to run in the direction of the two fighting mech's, which had vanished behind a pile of scrap- when a hand curled around his arm.

He screamed, a loud, blood curling scream. Pale grey hands grabbed him, hoisted him off his feet, only tightened when he thrashed and spat, screaming, screaming even as a cloth was shoved into his mouth.

A pair of hands grabbed at his exposed chest, pulling wires and gears and his screams became impossibly louder and his thrashing strengthened, tears trickling down his face as he screamed and screamed in pure  _terror-_

A switched was toggled.

The screaming stopped.


	28. Immobile

_Chapter Twenty-Eight:_

Immobile

* * *

Lloyd hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was jolted awake by a skull-shattering  _clang!_ At least, it  _felt_ like his skull had shattered.

Grunting, he pressed his palm to his forehead, but of course it did nothing to relieve his pounding brain. A hand grabbed his wrist, yanking it away from his face and almost dislocating his shoulder, his heart leaping in surprise. He heard a shout beside him, vaguely sounding like Cole, but he went silent when something sharp and cold was pressed against Lloyd's throat.

"You're gon' come quiet, a'right?" a husky voice said, a rank breath blowing into Lloyd's face. He scrunched his nose in distaste, but when he tried to pull away, a hand grabbed his hair, holding him in place. He grimaced, scalp tearing when the man jerked his hand, as though he were holding a dog by its collar.

"Okay, okay! We'll come quietly."

"Cole!"

Lloyd, realising his eyes were still shut, forced them open just in time to see Cole send Nya a look. Her mouth twisted downwards, but she said nothing else, tangling her hand in a still unconscious Jay's hair.

"That's a good lad," said the man, his breath hot on Lloyd's face, "Ge' up, the lot of ya."

Cole reached down and looped Kai's arm around his shoulders, helping him to his feet. He was awake, but in obvious pain from the way he was hunched in on himself, trying- and failing- to hold back his own grimace.

The man released Lloyd's hair, the knife pulling away from his throat. Giving him a half hearted glare that he only grinned at with rotting teeth, Lloyd forced himself to his feet, stumbled and caught himself on the bars.

Cole reached out, as though to help him, but Lloyd shook his head- stopped himself and sent him a look instead- before bracing himself and standing up properly. He wavered for a moment, vision briefly swimming, but he didn't fall again.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Zane kneeling next to Nya and the doctor- what was his name again? Did he even tell them his name?- talking quietly. The doctor seemed to be telling them something, Zane and Nya listening intently. Then, nodding and glancing over at the guards standing outside their cells, Zane helped Nya position Jay so that one arm was under his knees and the other was under his back, before the nindroid helped his sister to her feet, Jay in her arms.

With swords pointed at them, the Ninja were led from their cells, the doors clanging shut loudly. Lloyd made eye contact with Nelson and Skales Jr, who were huddled up against the bars watching. He tried to send them a reassuring look, but within moments they had turned the corner, and the two children were gone from his sight.

There were about twelve guards escorting them, and their combined footsteps echoing in the dark halls was like a live concert at full volume. Lloyd's head felt as though it were about to explode. Or maybe implode. Or maybe both at the same time, if that was even possible (he didn't think it was, but his brain felt like it would make it possible).

The tip of a sword pressed further into his spine, and he grunted, teeth clenching. He could almost  _sense_ the Black Rags grin.

Beside him was Nya and Jay. They were around the same size, and this must be making her carrying him a bit hard. but she seemed to be doing fine. He worried that the constant movement would make Jay worse, but he remained as nonresponsive as ever, that makeshift bandage hiding the gaping hole that had been his eye.

Twisting a little to look behind him, he found a shockingly pale Kai putting most of his weight on Cole. Of course, being the strongest out of a group of already pretty strong people, Cole hardly seemed to notice.

"Face forwards!" the Black Rag snapped, sword digging deeper into his back. Lloyd winced, shifting away from the point, and obediently faced forwards again. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Zane move to help Cole hold up Kai, but a Black Rag growled at him as though he were a dog and Zane was trying to take his bone away. The nindroid defensively held up his hands and reluctantly backed away from his two brothers, but not without a concerned look in Kai's direction.

Upon reaching a heavy metal door, one of the Black Rags broke off from the rest, pulling a large, rusted guy out from beneath his rags. With a bit of difficulty, the Black Rag forced the key into its hole and twisted. There was the heavy click of an opening lock, and with a small grunt, the Black Rag forced the door open with his shoulder.

The room beyond was dark, too dark to make out whatever was inside. Eyes widening, head spiking, Lloyd turned to look at his conscious siblings- Zane, Cole and Nya's faces were hesitant, suspicious, much like what was probably on his own face (although, at the back of his mind, he thought perhaps he looked more like a confused moron- concussions could do that).

The point of the Black Rags sword dug deeper into his back, forcing an unwilling grunt from his throat. Reluctantly, Lloyd followed Nya and Jay inside the room.

He lost his sight almost immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Zane beginning to glow, before there was the smack of a sword hilt on titanium and Zane grunted. His light died out, leaving them in darkness. The pounding in Lloyd's head dulled.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Cole. Somewhere to his right.

"Shut up, rock head."

Cole snorted, "Rock head? Seriously? That's the best insult you can come up with?"

Lloyd's lips twitched, but his half-smile fell, blood running cold when he heard a deafening  _slap!_ A hand to a cheek. Somewhere to his right.

The silence that followed was deafening. Lloyd abruptly found himself wishing for the lights to be turned back on; at least then he'd know where the Black Rags were.

"That," said Cole, after a long moment, "Was just  _rude_."

"You'll get more than that if you don't  _shut up!"_

Despite himself, Lloyd flinched. The yell made his head pound, a nervous sweat on his forehead. He licked his lips. Since when was he so nervous about these things? They should be able to take them on, even chained. It was dark, they could slip away and none of the Black Rags would even know they'd left.

Except... Jay was out cold. Kai could hardly stand. And while he hated to admit it, Lloyd's concussion made him vulnerable. He wouldn't be able to last long in a fight.

So that left three of them out, and yet three of them in. If they could just get out of these  _blasted_ handcuffs, then Cole, Nya and Zane would be able to knock these guys out no problem.

But then what? This place was a maze. A labyrinth. They couldn't just head back to the conjoining cells and blindly lead all of the captured citizens throughout the endless halls. They'd get captured or, worse, they'd be lost forever. Starve to death, if none of the traps got them first.

"You don't touch him," Zane's voice startled him from his thoughts. He sounded  _angry_ , a rarity for the nindroid. But now that he thought about it, it had not been so much of a rarity these passed few days. "Touch any of them and you'll lose your  _hands_."

"You're in no position to make threats,  _robot_ ," the Black Rag spat. As though it were an insult. A swear word. It reminded Lloyd, vaguely, of a black person being called the 'n word.' He scowled at the thought.

"That's it," said a different Black Rag, this one further away from Lloyd, "I've had enough of 'em. Say nighty night, kiddies."

Lloyd barely had time to register his words before there was the hiss of gas. It took his bruised brain too long to register it, his hands too slow to clamp over his mouth and nose, and even though he was holding it breath it wasn't enough. It  _stank_ , made his eyes water, and he'd already inhaled some of it.

Then he was coughing, coughing up his lungs, spittle on his lips, and even though he couldn't see anything he felt as though his world was spinning. He hadn't realised he'd fallen until the back of his head hit the uneven ground (why was this place so  _uneven?_ ).

His lungs burned. He gasped for breath without thinking, hands still clamped over his mouth and nose, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

He inhaled the gas.

His world didn't go dark. Because it already was.

* * *

Echo wasn't awake, exactly. But he was aware.

His eyes were closed. For a moment, he thought he had been blindfolded, but there was no fabric on his face. He could hear each steady breath he took, each quite tick of his clockwork heart. He could feel the hands gripping him by the arms and legs, heard the sound of an opening car door.

Echo was placed on something soft, but hard, a little rough, like a carpet. There was the thud of the door closing. The roar of an engine. The car began to move.

Inside his brain of wires and gears, he panicked. He screamed, he cried, he banged his fists against the walls. But he wouldn't move. He remained still, limp, no matter how much he tried to at least lift a finger. It was as though the connection between his body and his brain had been broken.

This had never happened to him before. He hadn't even known the connection  _could_ be broken. He wondered if that meant it could even be fixed.

The thought scared him, over everything else. Even more so than coming face to face with the man with the mutilated fingers again.

His body almost shivered at the thought, the closest he'd come to moving. Echo took relief in that. Perhaps the connection between body and brain had simply been weakened, instead of broken.

He latched onto that. At the moment, it was the closest he had to a good thing.

Echo wasn't sure how long he laid there. He tried to go to sleep, because at least sleep meant he was  _away_ , sleep meant he didn't have to worry, sleep meant peace. But, alas, sleep never came, no matter how hard he tried to clear his brain. This surprised him a little. Surely, with the connection between mind and body so frayed, sleep would have been easy?

But perhaps sleep was dangerous. He hadn't considered that, not until now. If he fell asleep, the weak connection between body and brain could snap.

He wondered what would happen if it did. Would he be able to be repaired? Or would he just be trapped, forever, in an infinite darkness? Would he go insane? Can nindroids even  _go_ insane?

Probably. Although the robotic version of insanity is most likely different from the biological version of it. Robotic insanity is a malfunction in the system itself, whereas biological insanity is usually caused by some sort of trauma.

At least, that's what Echo though. He was far from an expert on insanity, especially the biological version. Why would he be? There were no books on it in the lighthouse. Only brief mentions of the robotic version in technological texts he struggled to understand at times.

Had he been able to, Echo would have sighed. He was so tired. He just...

He just wanted to go home.

Back to Zane coaxing him into sleeping in his bed instead of on the floor, eventually ending with him cuddled up against his brother's chest in either Zane's or his own. Back to Kai ruffling his hair and explaining this he didn't understand. Back to Cole sitting next to him on the couch with a bucket load of sugary sweets, telling him what each one was called and which ones were the best and which ones to try first. Back to Lloyd's kind smiles and friendly greetings. Back to Jay's jokes and loud laughs. Back to Nya grinning at him from across the table as she laughed at Jay's attempts at cooking. Back to Misako's cookies and Wu's reassuring guidance. Back to Gizmo, zipping around with his excited bleeps, nudging his leg and beating him at chess every afternoon.

Back to the family he had always longed for.

Echo's chest was uncomfortably tight. His throat squeezed.

And despite the fact that he couldn't move, couldn't even twitch a finger, couldn't even make a facial expression, he felt his eyes burn behind his lids. Then the trickle of water down his metallic cheeks, sliding sideways towards his ears.

Oh, how he longed for home. How he longed for sleep.

How he longed for nothing.

* * *

He hadn't realised the car had come to a stop until he heard the muffled sound of a closing door. It tore Echo from his thoughts almost viciously. There was a moment of silence, where he thought maybe they had simply taken a pit stop, a bathroom break or something, when the boot door opened and light shone through his closed eyelids.

He would have winced, had he been able to.

Hands grabbed him, and Echo tried to struggle, tried to fight back, but his body wouldn't listen. His brain whirred in a spiraling panic as he was lifted, thrown over a shoulder. There was talking, in a language he couldn't understand, then the person carrying him began to walk.

Desperate, he tried to move, but his limbs were as limp as noodles. He attempted, for what must have been the millionth time, to open his eyes, but they just  _wouldn't respond._

A door opened. The creak of rusted hinges. The rattle of chains. He was placed, almost gently so, on the ground. To his surprise, it wasn't uneven, but it wasn't exactly  _solid_ either. It was almost... grainy.

He felt hands, hands in his chest, and in his brain he screamed, but in his body he didn't even twitch. For a moment, he was back on that operating table, screaming his throat raw, as the man with the mangled hands and snake mask tore him apart piece by piece.

Then a switch was flipped and he regained control of his body so fast he became dizzy. His eyes snapped open, a gasp tearing from his throat, and his arms and legs flayed as though he were drowning.

Sitting up, breaths coming out in ragged gasps, he saw a woman dressed his rags vanishing through a door, before it closed behind her and she was gone.

He sat there for a long moment. Gasping, heart ticking, trembling. After taking a few deep breaths, he struggled to his feet, almost fell and realised with a start that the floor was  _sand_.

That must mean they hadn't taken him back to the labyrinth. So where was he now? On a beach? He'd never been to a beach before- not a proper one, anyway. He knew from TV that most beaches were huge, so unlike the rocky one at the lighthouse.

Fascinated, he reached out and took a handful of sand. It trickled passed his fingers, back to the floor. The beach at the lighthouse didn't have sand, only rocks and the occasional shell. The closest thing to sand had been clumps of muck and gravel.

When there were only small grains left in the centre of his palm, Echo dropped his hand back to his side, taking a closer look around the room. It was, surprisingly, rather spacious. It looked more like a garage than a cell.

Especially since there was a large, bolted metal doors taking up almost the entire far wall.

He bit his lip, staring at it for a moment, before crossing his arms and shaking his head. His heart was ticking wildly, despite his attempts to calm down.

He'd been so close.  _So close_ to going home.

His eyes burned with tears, his bottom lip quivering. Sniffing, he whipped his eyes with the back of his hand, staring in amazement at the liquid it came away with. His sudden ability to cry was... astounding. He'd never been able to do it before. He wondered why he was able to do it now.

Sighing, he crossed his arms, almost hugging himself, palms cupping his elbows. He was just so  _tired._  Maybe he could just lie down... only for a little bit...

Echo had got as far as crouching down when he heard a loud, deafening  _creak!_ His head snapped towards the large metal doors, heart ticking, as the creak was followed by a mechanical groan.

He got to his feet, backing away from the doors, as there was a loud  _thud_ that shook the whole room. Then, slowly, the doors began to open, and Echo was forced to squint in the blinding light.

His ears were assaulted immediately by a deafening chatter of a large crowd. Starting to tremble, he began to slowly make his way passed the doors, eyes widening and breath catching at the sight laid out before him.

In the tall stands all around him, people dressed in dark, filthy rags cheered loudly, howling, banging together pots and pans and weapons and sticks. All of their faces were covered, although a few had some features sticking out- mouth, chin, ears, hair, eyes. Some were small enough to be children.

Upon seeing him, the noise increased, and he winced. Then he felt his heart stop.

Directly in front of him, at the highest of the stands in some kind of platform, sat the man with mangled hands, face hidden behind his green and silver snake mask. To his left stood three women- White Women, except their rags were no longer white. One was black, like the others, but with a symbol. The other two were blue and green.

To his right stood another three. One was white, another red and the last one- a male, he realised- was a light blue. But this wasn't what had captured his attention. This wasn't what had made his heart stop.

Because, kneeling in front of them with their bodies wrapped in chains and their hoods pulled back, gaping at him with wide eyes, was the Ninja.

"Zane!" he screamed, but he wasn't sure he heard him over the yells of the Black Rags. He saw Zane scream something back, but didn't catch what he said.

Echo's joy was short lived. His wide smile fell from his face. Because he was looking at walls and spikes he had only heard of in stories, had only seen pictures and drawings of in story books.

He was standing in the arena of Ouroborus.


	29. Sins

_Chapter Twenty-Nine:_

Sins

* * *

Cole was not knocked out by the gas.

He hardly even noticed it at first, which made his friends suddenly bursting into ragged gasping and coughing all that much worse. When he finally noticed the quiet hissing, it was too late for him to even consider doing anything, and he almost phased right through a collapsing Kai in his horror.

Then light was spilling through the room, so bright and blinding that Cole automatically closed his eyes despite it not having any proper effect on him. The gas was an orange coloured mist, something he could tell even with a partly lidded gaze, and with only a half-solid hand he desperately covered Kai's mouth and nose, but his fiery brother's eyes had already rolled into the back of his head.

There was a clang of metal on metal. Cole squinted through the orange mist, making out three figures pounding the source of the blinding light into the ground. It took him a moment to realise it was Zane.

A mechanical gasp. The light died out.

For a moment, there was nothing. Cole's ghostly eyes darted around in a useless attempt to see through the pitch darkness, Kai's dead weight heavy on his side. He tried to call out for his friends, but all that came out was a strangled gasping noise. A plastic rim was pressed against the back of his head, so cold that it chilled Cole to his very core, a sharp intake of breath that wasn't necessary. He didn't need to breathe anymore, after all.

"One move, ghost boy," said the Black Rag, voice rough and muffled, as though he were speaking from behind a mask. The frigid plastic against his head jerked upwards, the slosh of water in the toy guns barrel. "One move."

"What did you do to them?" he asked through gritted teeth. The cold, cold plastic nozzle was pressed further against his head, something like frostbite, only for ghosts, already starting to chip away at his transparent skin.

"Made 'em go beddy bye's what we did," a dark chuckle that rumbled in his ears, "Keep talkin' and you'll have a more permanent version of it."

Something hard was shoved over his head, but Cole preferred it a lot more than the wet nozzle of the water gun. Kai was torn from his arms and he yelled, twisting, but then something hit the thing over his head with a deep, metallic  _clang_  that made his ears ring. Cole was shoved forward, the wet nozzle on his shoulder now, a shiver wracking his spine like a frigid drop of liquid fire.

 _Deepstone_. He had a  _deepstone bucket_  over his head.

Humiliation burnt his cheeks a deep green, chains hands curling into trembling fists. He was shoved forward again, numb feet stumbling over uneven ground, and Cole bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out when the wet nozzle was pressed further into his shoulder.

Another shove almost sent him to his knees. He forced himself to walk, pressing his eyes shut, praying even though he never prayed that his friends were close by. That they were okay.

Keep walking. Keep walking.

He couldn't breathe.

Even though he didn't need to.

* * *

Jay woke up screaming.

His eye was a blazing inferno, infection licking away at his skin with a blistered tongue, pus in place of saliva. He trashed and screamed and screamed his throat raw, the clink of chains, cuffs tearing open his wrists. Someone was speaking, a hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't hear them over his own screaming.

Then shouting, shouting everywhere, his head a swirling mess of pain, pain, pain. The cocking of a gun, a terrified scream, and something smacked against his head.

Jay gasped, choking on his own spit and tongue. Then it smashed against his head again, again, again, his one-eyed vision hazy and unfocused and glazed, skull cracking from the force.

Again. Again. Again. Drool and blood trickled from the side of his mouth. His screams had died to weak gaps. Someone was crying. He hoped they were okay.

He greeted the dark.

* * *

They spent hours in the room.

It was a small room, with no windows and no furniture. It was hot and dry and humid, and soon Nya's clothes sticking to her in uncomfortable places. The ground was hard and smooth. They were no longer in the labyrinth.

Jay's head was wrapped with bandages, provided by a slightly familiar Black Rag covered in purple tattoos and with bags under his eyes. She tried to think of where she might have seen him before, but all she could come up with was an impossible scenario. Chen's followers were long gone.

Cole and Zane took it upon themselves to aimlessly wander the room in search of a way to escape, but they found nothing. A part of Nya told her that she should get up and help them look, but a bigger, stronger part screeched at the prospect of leaving Jay's side, despite the smallness of the room.

So she remained where she was, running her fingers through Jay's hair, nails catching on dried blood. Kai was at her other side, arms crossed loosely over his stomach and face a grimace of pain that he had long since given up trying to hide. He hadn't said a word since he first woke up from the knock out gas. Lloyd sat across from them, eyes closed. She wasn't sure if he was even awake.

"How's he doing?" asked Cole, a quiet whisper, as though he were afraid to break the silence. He had already tried to phase through the walls, but his deepstone chains prevented him from getting very far.

Nya gave a tiny little shrug. She wasn't sure who he was referring to, but whether it be Kai or Jay or Lloyd, her answer was relatively the same.

She didn't know.

She wished there was something in the room. A chair. A bucket. A stick. Something to throw, something to smash, something she could lob at the closest Black Rag and break their neck to the point that bone was jutting out of their throat like jagged spikes.

But, alas, the room remained scarce of any objects. And Nya stayed where she was, fingers tangled in hair sticky with drying blood, not caring for the brown-red stains on her skin.

"How long do you think these guys have been active?" Nya jumped, twisting around to look at Kai, relief lighting her chest, if only a little. She locked her free hand with his, her older brother weakly squeezing it.

"What do you mean?" asked Cole, sitting down across from them, besides Lloyd. Zane remained standing, arms crossed loosely over his chest, eyes glued to the door. Kai lifted his shoulders in a weak shrug, grimacing at the small action.

"This has never happened to us before," he pointed out, "These guys may not look it, but they have resources. How else could they have made that bomb? Built that labyrinth? Created a group this big?"

"So they've been here for years," concluded Nya, eyes widening, "Perhaps even before the Serpentine Wars."

"But why?" asked Cole, frowning, "Why go after us? Why kidnap all those people? Why take Echo? Why do  _any_  of this?"

A silence stretched throughout the tiny room. No one had an answer.

"They've taken Serpentine," Lloyd spoke up, startling his siblings. He opened his eyes, bleary, as though he was reluctant to do so. "I saw a bunch of them just before Seamus- Carrot- knocked me out."

"Serpentine?" repeated Nya, "Why Serpentine?"

Lloyd shrugged, then shuddered violently. Zane finally tore his eyes from the door to frown at him, concerned. Cole shared a look with Nya.

"They- They were hanging from cages," Lloyd continued, wringing his sleeves, looking sick at the mere memory, "And they'd- I dunno why, but they'd chopped- chopped them up. Mutilated them. Some were children."

They looked at each other, horrified. Lloyd took in a shuddering breath, swallowing what was probably bile. Kai's fingers tightened around Nya's.

"This doesn't make any sense," Zane said, speaking up for the first time in a while. He shook his head slowly. "None of it adds up."

"Kidnapping a thousand people at once, torturing Serpentine, Seamus or- or Carrot, or whatever the hell his name is," Kai released a long breath, "And trying to get to us. It always comes back to us, doesn't it?"

"It's been that way for a while now," muttered Nya. Lloyd stared at his lap, rubbing the goosebumps along his arms. He was still too pale, too slow, too unaware to be healthy. Nya had to resist the urge to smack him for keeping his concussion a secret. She wanted to smack herself too for not noticing it sooner.

It seemed so obvious now.

"What do you think they're gonna do with us?" asked Lloyd, so quiet that Nya almost didn't' catch it. Zane shifted, something odd flashing across his face, and he slid down to the floor on Lloyd's other side. Cole sighed, wrapping an arm around the Green Ninja's shoulders.

"I dunno, buddy."

They spent hours in the room.

* * *

Shouting. Cheering. So loud that it caused Jay's ears to throb, his head to pound. He was hardly aware, hardly awake, and one of the bandages wrapped around his head was poking him in the eye. He was sore, he was tired, disoriented, and he felt as though he were about to pass out at any moment.

To his right was Cole, to his left Lloyd, who looked no better than when he'd been lying in a puddle on the floor at his feet. He could make out Zane, Nya and Kai on the other side of some sort of throne, all crouching like they were, all wrapped in chains.

All with someone standing behind them, wearing their colours.

Jay was being horribly reminded of the Bizzaro Ninja.

Damn. That was a long time ago.

Even in his only partly aware state, Jay knew Ouroborus when he saw it. Except it was different in some aspects; pillars and walls had been roughly repaired, the arena below still held signs of the Great Devourer smashing through the ground. The repairs must have taken months, maybe even years, even with all the Black Rags that had undoubtedly been put to work.

It made Jay wonder just how long ago this had been planned.

Then the man came out and Jay couldn't breathe. A green and silver snake mask hid his face. Mangled hands, that had torn Echo apart piece by piece, all recorded on a video camera and sent to them.

As a warning. As a message.

Jay still didn't know.

"You!" Zane screamed, leaping to his feet. The White Woman- Yuki, according to her symbol- brought her first down on the back of his head with a metallic _clang!_  Zane grunted, falling back to his knees, and sent the masked man the most hateful glare Jay had ever seen on his face.

The masked man- Soren, his name was Soren Jerhys- ignored them in favour of standing before the crowd of Black Rags seated throughout the stands. The cheers and shouting burst back into life, Black Rags whooping and leaping, and Jerhys spread his arms as though to bask in the glory of his Basilisk's. Jay's chest swelled with hatred.

"Basilisks!" Jerhys yelled, impossibly loud, loud enough that he could clearly be heard over their yells, "My loyal followers! My wondrous outcomes! For many a year have we sulked in the shadows, have we crept through the sewers, waiting. Preparing. Plotting."

The shouting was beginning to die down. The Black Rags were leaning forward in their seats, peering over heads, shushing and whispers in a language Jay had never were hanging so far over the edge Jay suspected they were about to fall down into the arena and get impaled by one of the many spikes.

Excuse him for hopping it happened.

"For many a year," Jerhys continued, "We have watched. For many a year, we have been kicked, we have been spat on, we have been thrown to the streets like common _rats_  scrambling through mud, like something disgusting, something  _hideous!_ " shouts burst into life; Jerhys shouted over them, "And what do we say to that? What have we done? What, my glorious Basilisks, my wondrous pets, have we created?"

A silence came upon them. Jay's good eye was as wide as a saucer. Jerhys splayed his hands, gesturing to his surroundings. "We have created  _salvation!_ "

Shouts and cheers burst forth. Black Rags scrambled atop each other, like wild dogs having spotted a piece of meat, wild animals, banging pots and pans and rusted, flimsy weapons.

"We have created," continued Jerhys, "Our own society. Our own world. We have cheated  _death itself!_ "

Screams, loud, wild. Jay's brain felt as though it were about to explode in a burst of matter, painting the walls and floor a disgusting red. Bile rose to the back of his throat. His knees were starting to ache.

"This world," said Jerhys, "Is broken. This world is one where the queer are  _'accepted'_ , where the disabled are  _praised_  instead of helped. Where a boy can mistake himself for a girl and be  _refused_  the help that he so  _desperately_  needs!"

Jay felt sick, and it wasn't just from the infection licking away at his empty socket, nor the fever that burnt his skin. The cheers were loud, boisterous, shouts in a language he didn't understand. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what they were saying.

"This world is where a man can  _marry_  another _man_ ," Jerhys continued; Jay imagined the inside of his mask was covered in spittle, "Where a woman can  _date_  another  _woman,_ where the unborn are  _slaughtered_ within the womb! This broken world is made up of broken people, this broke  _society_  degrades those who desperately try to  _fix_  it!"

Jerhys breathed deeply, as though to catch his breath. The Black Rags clapped and cheered and whooped their agreement, shaking fists, banging pots. Jerhys raised his hand to point to the bright sky.

"But today," he said, "Marks the day that the new world begins. Today marks the day that we finally bring society back to its former glory. With me as your leader, and with life and death at my fingertips, we shall perfect the world that has been down spiralling for years!"

Cheering. Jerhys turned sideways, so that he was still facing the crowd, and gestured to the people in their colours. "With me as your leader, and your  _new_  Ninja as your protectors, we shall brighten this world, and we shall bring back those who were never meant to have left us!"

Jay's heart dropped to his stomach like a stone, mouth popping open. The crowd was cheering wildly, louder than before, and Jay was almost certain he'd blacked out for a moment. Jerhys raised a hand to the large metallic doors on the other side of the arena.

"But before that new world shall begin," he said, "We must feed the beast that squirms in our stomachs, the monster that slithers through our throats. And what is it that the beast eats?"

The Black Rags shouted- no, chanted. It took Jay a moment to realise it was in English.

_"Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!"_

"That is right!" Jerhys shouted, throwing a mangled fist into the air, "That is right, my loyal, beloved followers! The sins that course through our veins, that contaminate our blood, that pump through our very hearts! Cleanse yourself! Feed them to the beast!"

_"Feed the beast! Feed the beast! Feed the beast!"_

"My Basilisks!" Jerhys called, "My precious children!" He pointed to the doors.

"I present my sacrifice!"

The doors began to crank open slowly, loudly, and yet hardly audible over the deafening screaming. Jay tried to breathe. Breathe. Why couldn't he breathe?

He expected a monster. Giant, with fanged teeth and curling claws, bright red eyes and a deformed face. But it was not a monster, it wasn't even terrifying, and yet Jay found himself more terrified than he'd ever been in his whole life.

For what stumbled forth on rusted legs, fogged yellow eyes wide as he took in his surroundings, clockwork heart tick-tocking in his chest of metal gears, was a face he hadn't seen in person for what felt like an age.

_"Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!"_

Echo-Zane's mouth moved in a shout, but it failed to carry to them over the noise of the ecstatic Black Rags. There was the clink of pulling chains, and Jay saw Zane leaning forwards, held back by Yuki, eyes so wide they almost looked too big for his face. "ECHO!"

Jay couldn't breathe. Couldn't breathe. His whole world began to spin, nothing but the screaming and the clang of pots and pans and swords and sticks ringing in his ears. The woman in his colours grabbed the back of his shirt as he slumped forwards, forcing him upright, but Jay hardly even noticed the unnecessarily violent action, nor the way his collar dug into his throat. He couldn't breathe.

_"Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!"_

Lloyd twisted, yelling, and rammed his elbow into the green one's- Chikara- guts. Chikara grunted, but otherwise made no noise, kicking the boy in the side and sending him to the ground. She smashed her foot into his face, the disgusting crack of his nose breaking. Blood leaked from his nostrils.

"Don't you touch him!" screamed Cole. Doro hit him.

_"Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!"_

Jay clenched his eyes shut, trying to focus on his breathing. A laugh escaped his throat, and he wanted to scream, scream and scream and scream, uncaring of the tears that leaked from his only eye.

_"Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!"_

"They're gonna kill him," Jay giggled, Cole's eyes boring into his skull, "They're gonna kill him."

_("Jay, where's my brother?)_

He couldn't breathe.

_("Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!")_

He was being strangled.

_("It's not your fault, Jay.")_

He couldn't see.

_("Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!")_

Everything was too loud.

_(The ice cream scooper dug into his eye socket)_

He was laughing.

_("Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!")_

He couldn't stop.

_("Why don't you go get some more things to burn for another fire?")_

Pus leaked from his socket.

_("Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!")_

Noise.

_("You can take Echo-Zane with you.")_

This was all his fault.

_("Sins! Sins! Sins! Sins!")_

He couldn't breathe.

_(As delicate as standing frost)_

"Jay?"

Sins.


	30. Rage

_Chapter Thirty:_

Rage

* * *

Echo trembled. His breathing came out in ragged gasps. The noise was loud and deafening, to the point that it shook his metallic skull and vibrated in his clockwork chest. It was almost as though he were at a concert of sorts, except the music was an ear-bleeding, uneven rhythm of banging pots, sticks and weapons.

He felt small. Tiny. More so than he'd ever felt in his entire life. Every pair of eyes was glued onto him, glinting with a bloodthirsty hungry, grinning with rotten teeth. Abruptly wishing to return to the room, Echo turned, just as the doors banged shut. The lock slid into place with a finalizing  _clang_.

A small step backwards. Something crunched beneath his heel. A bone, concealed in the sand. Echo's heart ticked in his ears. He scrambled away from it, trembling, shaking, gasping. A mask of green and silver, staring down at him from above, tearing him apart piece by piece, gear by gear, with mangled, mutilated hands.

Tears slipped from his eyes and trickled down his newly repaired cheeks, fogged yellow desperately locking on his big brother, so close and yet so far. A whimper passed his lips. Some of the Black Rags had begun to laugh, jeering, pointing inky, mocking fingers at him.

The man with the face of a snake raised a scarred fist, and Echo flinched when he spoke, "Let us burrow our sins into this machine with the ticking heart! Let us give it our sins and cleanse ourselves! Let us feed the beast!"

Impossibly, the noise increased. They were chanting, a chant that made Echo's breath freeze in his throat.

" _Feed the beast! Feed the beast! Feed the beast!"_

He stepped back, ticking in his ears, ticking in his head, tears streaming rivers down his cheeks as the door on the opposite end of the arena began to crank open, the slow turn of giant gears, the metal bar holding it in place retracting. His back hit the cold metal of the closed door.

And for a moment, there was nothing. The noise stopped. No one breathed. For a moment, not even his heart ticked.

Then came an ungodly  _screech_  of pain and terror and mad  _rage_. Then came another, and another, until it was a chorus of screams and screams and screams from throats that weren't human.

Something emerged from the shadows of the cage, covered in dried blood, with one wild yellow eye and a second neck that flopped about uselessly. Its claws were cracked and broken, its long fangs snapped and jagged, its red scales a mess of infected wounds leaking pus and half-healed scars.

Echo had read about the Serpentine, and at the back of his stunned brain of cogs and gears, he recognised it as a Fangpyre, despite the lack of a second head. Serpentine were humanoid, could speak, could communicate with humans, could build and create and live and laugh and love.

In the past few- how long has it been? Days? Weeks?  _Months?_ \- Echo has been more terrified than he's ever been before. He's almost drowned- twice- and he's been torn apart and put back together, he's watched crimson liquid spill from throats, he's been grabbed and dragged and thrown from place to place again and again and again.

And all those times Echo had screamed. He'd scrambled away, tried to run, cried and curled into a ball. All those times, Echo's heart had ticked so fast it might as well have burst out of his chest in an explosion of cogs and gears and springs.

But this time, Echo didn't scream. He didn't even move. He just stood. Staring. Not even realising that his heart had stopped ticking.

Then, from the shadows of the cage, stumbled forth more Serpentine- a Venomari without arms, a Constrictai that's mouth had been chopped down to nothing but a gaping hole, a Hypnobrai without eyes. Covered in scars and wounds and pus and their own urine, stumbling out into the light like confused animals, screeching that awful screech.

"My Basilisks!" the man with the mutilated hands yelled over the terrible screeching, pointing his middle finger- for he had no index- down at the nindroid below, "Transfer your sins!"

The Black Rags burst into noise. Echo's eyes met the one-headed Fangpyre's.

The Serpentine gave a godawful screech- and ran right towards him.

Only then did Echo scream.

He leapt to the side at the last minute, sand spraying into his eyes. The Fangpyre ran right past him, skidding to a stop and sliding, digging a clawed hang into the sand, insane eyes locked on the nindroid. It screeched again, strings of blood and saliva connecting its jagged teeth, and charged.

Heart ticking so fast it was impossible to tell one tick from another, Echo rolled to the side, but the Fangpyre skidded again and scrambled towards him, screeching, gnashing fangs, on all fours. Echo gasped, scrambling away, hands sliding on loose sand.

He kicked the snake in the face, but then it latched its teeth onto his foot, denting metal, crushing the gears in his ankle, and Echo let loose a loud scream as agony shot through his leg. Raising his other leg, he gave the monster a hard kick in its deformed extra neck, right in a badly stitched wound that looked red and shiny and swollen, and with a tremendous screech of pain it released his ankle.

Echo rolled onto his stomach and scrambled to his feet, almost collapsing as pain flared through his crushed ankle, and stumbled away from the screaming Fangpyre as fast as he could. Another screech had his head snapping to the side, just in time to see the armless Venomari charging towards him.

Screaming, Echo tripped over his own feet, and the Venomari rammed right into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Desperate, he pushed at its bloody chest, fangs gnashing in his face, trying to keep it out of bite reach.

A Constrictai, this one with a badly broken arm and a slash going down its back, rammed into the armless Venomari, knocking it off Echo, and bit down on its neck. The Venomari gurgled, twitching and gasping, red liquid leaking from its mouth and throat, staining the sand and the Constrictai's muzzle. With a violent jerk of its head and a disgusting  _squelch_ , the Constrictai tore out the Venomari's throat in a spray of red.

Trembling, Echo struggled to his feet, and had he been human he was certain he would have vomited. The Constrictai licked its lips and latched onto the Venomari's neck, chewing and tearing and gulping scaled flesh in a crimson mess.

A Hypnobrai barged into him, blindly clawing at his face, screeching, screeching in his ears. Echo yelled, a claw catching on his eye and cracking it, and with tears blurring his vision and a sob caught in his throat, he shoved as hard as he could, sending the blind creature stumbling backwards, screeching in a confused haze.

Echo ran.

A Fangpyre, this one with its twin hearts exposed in its chest, twisting and thumping with every pump of blood, appeared in front of him in a spray of sand. Echo skidded to a stop, twisting around and running in a different direction, only to gasp as a Constrictai with its horns hacked off and scales peeled back slouched towards him, a rumbling growl in the back of its throat.

A wind picked up, blowing sand right into the insane snake's eyes, and with a bellowing screeched it clawed at its face, red streaking across its scales as it tore at its own flesh. Its left eyeball appeared on the end of its curved claw.

The Fangpyre with the exposed hearts leapt at him from behind with twin shrieks, and with a shriek of his own Echo lunged to the side, face planting the ground, sand in his mouth and eyes. The two-headed monster hit the Constrictai, and they both toppled into the sand.

A Hypnobrai, limbs so twisted they hardly function, stumbled towards him in an uncoordinated dash. Echo screamed and desperately scrambled through the sand, the monster looming over him with blood stained teeth, mouth open in a screech of anger. His hand curled around something thin and curved, and without thought Echo clenched his eyes shut and jabbed it at the incoming monster.

The Hypnobrai halted in its tracks, gurgling. Slowly, Echo opened his eyes, coming face to face with the twisted monster. A drop of blood dripped from its fang, landing on the tip of Echo's nose. It slumped sideways, and the jagged blade slid out of the snake's stomach.

The blade fell into the dust from still, red stained fingers. Blood stained the sand, pooling around the dying monster, and a single, raspy gasp marked its end. Its chest stilled. Yellow eyes, glazed, unseeing, stared up at the steadily darkening sky.

A snowflake landed atop the blood on Echo's nose.

He stared at his hands, streaked with red, startled more than anything else. Slowly, he raised his eyes to the immobile monster.

_Biological beings cannot be repaired._

Cheering. Screaming. All around him. Fogged yellow looked up, up to the balcony, locking with the dark holes of the green and silver snake mask. He could almost sense the man's smile. Could see the Ninja, stilling their struggles. Staring at what he had done. What he's done before.

Echo stepped back, heart ticking, ticking, ticking as fast as a running hare. The Ninja did not kill. They fought, they injured, they've almost  _been_ killed, but never have they purposefully thrust a blade into a stomach, nor have they cracked the bones in a neck. Even if they got out of this, even if they escaped, they would send him away, back to the lighthouse, and even Gizmo will leave him-

_Time was endless. Nothing. He simply floated, without a single conception of how long he'd been there, with no memory of how he got there or if there was even a way out, if he'd ever before done anything other than just float among the nothing._

_He wasn't bored. He wasn't tired, sad, angry or happy. He wasn't content, but he wasn't upset either. He wasn't panicking and scrambling for a way out. Maybe, he wondered, he was just as much a nothing as everything around him._

-Claws clung to his side, fangs digging into his shoulder and tearing at metal, exposing wires and cogs and gears that had previously been hidden. Without even realising he'd started screaming, Echo tore himself away from the Serpentine and ran blindly in the opposite direction. Run, run, run, run away, even though there was nowhere to run to, even though he'd tire, even though they would catch him when he did-

_To say the least, he was startled when he felt something, rummaging inside his chest. He couldn't see, hear, move nor smell, and up until now he hadn't been able to feel either. Then there was fire, fire everywhere, melting the metal from his exoskeleton, scorching his wires, disfiguring his gears. He screamed a silent scream, burning, burning, and though he were terrified his heart remained still._

-Echo reached the wall, and with a stumbling leap he stuck to its side and began to run up it, duly registering that the shouting had increased. Claws and fangs and shrieks nipped at his heels, hungry, hungry, the desire to tear him apart-

_It could have taken hours, years, perhaps only seconds, but Echo regained awareness bit by bit. He registered the soft ticks and tocks of his clockwork heart, the wood beneath him, the whispers around him. Most of all, he registered the fire that exploded within his metallic skull, a gaping hole of wires and gears and sparks, a bullet lodged deep inside like a tumour._

-He reached the top, tipped with spikes, but in that moment the monsters trying to claw up the wall after him were a lot more terrifying. He grabbed the spikes, ignoring how they scraped and tore at his hands and fingers, moving to haul himself over, but then the Black Rags were pooling in front of him, shouting, whacking and poking with sticks and pans, and Echo lost his grip and fell, fell into the monsters-

" _I can't believe we forgot about this thing."_

" _Oh, please, would you just look at it? It's a piece of useless junk. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been shot."_

" _But Lord Garmadon wants it repaired. An army of robot would be pretty cool, huh?"_

_A whack. The clang of metal. A yelp._

"We're  _Garmadon's army, you nitwit. You want replaced?"_

" _Okay, okay, jeez. So how are we gonna repair this thing?"_

" _Uh… maybe it has an instruction manual."_

Claws tore at wires, fangs snapped at clockwork. A mouth latched around Echo's hand, and in a brutal spray of sparks and snapping wires and crunching metal, tore it off. Teeth bit into his arm, his legs, claws ripping at his face, his eyes, and Echo screamed and screamed and screamed as he was torn apart, again, again, again-

_Hands, on his arms and legs. Grunting, huffs from the effort of carrying something heavy. A short wall, the back of his torn open head smacking against wood. The crash of waves. Air tinged with salt. It reminded him of someplace warm and friendly, a caring smile that never reached the eyes, but he couldn't figure out what it was._

Snow fell from the sky, wet and slushy. A Venomari screeched as some landed on top of its head, startled by the sudden cold, and scrambled away to run in a circle, screeching in outright confusion. A wind picked up, stronger, stronger, and the monsters stopped their hungry attack to scream, stumbling away, shrinking and curling in on themselves as though to protect their half destroyed bodies.

Echo lay, curled into a ball, trembling, crying and sobbing loudly and covered in flaming agony. Cold, slushy snow splattered across his broken body, and through the haze of confused voices and screeching, he saw the man in the green and silver mask had turned his back to the arena, was pointing a finger at his brother, who appeared just as startled as everyone else, who's eyes were locked on Echo-

_The gentle rocking of a departing ship. The crash of waves, the screech of seagulls. It lulled him in and out of consciousness in something that he couldn't remember the name of. Forgotten thoughts and feelings and memories dashed in and out of his damaged brain, always just out of reach, dancing upon his fingertips._

" _I'm not even sure he'll be able to fix it-"_

" _Of course he'll be able to fix it! He_ built  _it after all, didn't he?"_

The man spun around to face the arena again, mangled hands clenched into enraged fists. In a single, fluid motion he raised one of his fists and banged it against the railing, rattling it, cracking it, causing one of the spikes to break off and fall, crushing a Fangpyre in a spray of guts and crimson blood. "Feed the beast! FEED THE BEAST!  _FEED THE BEAST!_ "

The crowd began to chant, drowning the confused murmuring, banging fists and pots and sticks and swords, hooting and whooping and pointing with almost  _demanding_ tones, " _Feed the beast! Feed the beast! Feed the beast!"_

" _There's no one here!"_

" _What do you mean there's no one here?"_

" _He's gone! Just- gone! Where's that bloody monster?"_

" _It's gone too!"_

" _Oh, that's just_ great.  _Garmadon's gonna have our bones for dinner."_

" _Wouldn't that technically make him a cannibal? We_ are  _human skeletons."_

" _You think that guy's human? He's got four arms, red eyes and while I'm racist or anything, no one is supposed to be that black."_

" _Yeah, it looks like his skin's been charred or something."_

" _Like he's been struck by lightning?"_

" _Lightning doesn't do that to people, doofus."_

" _What should we do with the robot?"_

" _Just leave it here. The seagulls can have at it for all I care."_

Choking on a sob, Echo pushed himself up onto his elbows, shrugging off a layer of slushy snow. His left arm sparked and trembled, wires poking out in place of his hand. He couldn't even see where it went.

Across the arena, through a small blizzard of falling snow, a third door began to creak open. Bolt after bolt after bolt retracted, the clank and clatter of releasing chains, the click of an opening lock. Then nothing.

Silence stretched, with nothing but the howling wind, the impossible fall of snow in the middle of the desert. Out the corner of his eye, Echo saw a Constrictai rip open the dead Hypnobrai's stomach, tossing out guts and bones and a long string of intestines, before crawling inside and burrowing within its belly for warmth.

Then the doors burst open so suddenly that even the crowd gasped and screamed, a giant snake with scales of green and silver, and intelligent eyes of bright orange, fangs longer than Echo's whole body and a head almost as big as the doors it had squeezed through. The basilisk raised its mighty head to squint at the falling snow, an angry hiss leaving its maw as it was assaulted by sudden blasts of cold wind. It opened its mouth with strings of saliva, and screeched so loud that Echo's head spun and his ears rang.

Cheers burst forth as the beast silenced. Orange eyes went from Serpentine to Serpentine, from Black Rag to Black Rag, and then finally to Echo. Its scaly lips twisted in a vicious snarl, an undying hunger entering its orange eyes-

_Nothing. Nothing but the steady pound in his brain, the crash of waves, the song of seagulls. It was almost peaceful, almost familiar, and yet he couldn't remember why._

_The quiet whir of spinning wheels zipping towards him. A questioning beep, a familiar boop. A clawed hand brushed against the hole in his forehead._

The basilisk shot forwards, quicker than lightning, louder than thunder. A Venomari screeched a fearful screech, right before it was torn apart by giant fangs and gulped down a long throat. A Hypnobrai, whimpering in the sand and snow- then a bloody mess that stained it red.

Echo leant against the wall, attempting to crawl up it, but he hardly got one step before he was falling back into the snow with a pained gasp. The giant snake cut a small crater in the mix of snow and sand as it moved, leaving behind a bloody trail as it launched and snapped at the mutilated Serpentine, their dying screeches ringing in the air, the cheer of the crowd and the screams of the Ninja.

His heart ticked, ticked, ticked in his ears. Half blind by the snow, fingers and toes numb from the cold, all he could do was lay there, tears streaming down torn cheeks, and watch as the basilisk slaughtered the broken Serpentine-

_Zane woke on a stony beach. He blinked, slowly, with eyelids that struggled to move. A bleep off to the side, and he moved his too stiff neck to turn his head, flopping in the gravel. A little robot, about the size of a small cat, stared at him with two little eyes. Those little eyes lit up upon locking with his, and clawed hands were thrown into the air in celebration._

" _He-He-oooo," he tried to speak, but his voice came off raspy and hard to understand. He tried again. "I-I aaaaa 'Aaaaaane."_

_The little robot bleeped, placing a clawed hand to his metallic, uncooperating lips. It cocked its head to the side, and had it had a mouth, Zane thought that perhaps it would have been smiling at him. It was only then that he realised the pounding in his brain was absent. Tools were scattered along the stony beach. How odd._

The Basilisk twisted, scaly lips stained crimson, orange eyes darting around for another meal. They landed on Echo. It bared its long fangs in a brutal grin, dripping with blood and saliva, an unidentifiable Serpentine's arm stuck between its bottom teeth.

Then it lunged. With a scream that tore at Echo's throat, the nindroid forced himself onto unstable feet and leapt out of the way, sand and snow getting in his mouth and eyes, and the basilisk smashed into the wall, cracking sandstone, dislodging spikes. It tore its teeth from the wall with an enraged shriek, just in time to spot a Black Rag losing their balance and falling after a spike- its jaws snapped shut around them before they could even muster a scream.

Panic, chaos erupting upon the balcony. Echo stumbled to his feet, gritting teeth, vision blurred with tears, and stuttered forwards only to collapse upon a mound of snow. He squinted through the snowflakes, peering towards the balcony, just in time to see Zane, unchained, sock the man in the snake mask right in the mouth.

Then the Coloured Rags were dashing forth, grabbing him, throwing him to the ground, and despite his efforts, Zane was done within moments, pounded into the floor. Echo's eyes widened and he screamed, louder than he's ever screamed before, and something snapped within his chest, something bubbled in his gut, spiking in his wired veins like venom, and the snow around him began to melt, the sun burst forth in a blazing heat, and Echo's eyes blazed with the emotion that he had felt so little, had hardly thought himself capable of, the wind whirling around him like a destructive shield.

Somewhere, the basilisk shrieked. But Echo didn't care. His clockwork heart was ticking faster than it had ever ticked before. Something rushed in his ears, blinded his vision, had his teeth gritting and his one hand curling into a fist so tight that his nails scraped his metallic surface. It bubbled in his gut, blazed in his veins, and melted the snow surrounding him.

_Rage._


	31. Wishes

_Chapter Thirty-One:_

Wishes

* * *

It all happened so quickly. So suddenly. Yet at the same time, it lasted forever.

Wind roared in his ears, so loud he could hardly hear the constant ticking of his own heart. He was surrounded by clouds of sand and dust, but none attacked his eyes or got in his mouth. He was weightless, airborne, a thousand feet tall, with venom rushing to his head and bubbling in his gut. At the centre of the storm.

Screams. A Black Rag flew across the arena. The body of a Hypnobrai was picked up, tossed about like a rag doll, and collided with a half-dead Venomari. An entire wall collapsed. The Basilisk attempted to burrow beneath the sand, but the storm caught it by the tail and snapped its neck against the side of its half-formed crevice.

He almost thought he'd heard his name, but when he looked there was nothing but sand and dust and flying bodies. Blazing fogged yellow caught sight of fiery red clothing, arms covering their head, and he lashed out, sending them smashing into the farthest wall. The balcony crumpled like a badly made sand castle, the walls of the arena caved in a crack of splitting rock and wood and metal, trapping bodies, casting sand into the sky.

Slowly, the venom faded. It wore through his wired veins, the bubbling in his stomach decreasing to a slight shimmer. Slowly, he descended from the sky, the tornado extinguishing with a few last fetal pushes at the sand. Metallic feet landed, and the storm was gone.

The sky was a tapestry of pinks and oranges. Ouroborus had been reduced to rubble, with only a single wall to the far right left standing, although it appeared that a breath upon its surface would send it toppling with the rest. A mask of green and silver lay half hidden in the sand.

Echo stumbled from the rubble on numb legs and weak knees. He walked far out into the desert, until the sun had vanished over the horizon and the sky was a sea of shadows, the stars he had missed for so long twinkling high above. He walked, despite the exhaustion tugging at his core, despite the heaviness of his limbs, until there was nothing but sand. Sand, in every direction, as far as his enhanced eyes could see.

_A kick landed right in his face, smashing his eye. The pirates laughed, loud, everywhere, and one grabbed him by the hair and tugged him back when he attempted to crawl away, which was near impossible without his arms and only one leg._

_A punch to the mouth. A kick to the stomach. Laughter, laughter, a sword pressed against his throat. They were gone._

_They were gone._

The cold burned in his lungs, breaths coming out in white clouds. His broken limbs trembled, the pain a blazing agony, but he kept walking. He had to keep walking. Because he didn't know what else he could do.

" _Leave him alone!" the girl, with black hair and angry eyes, wrists chained behind her back. The man who wasn't a man- for Zane (although they seemed to like to call him Echo instead) had never before seen a man with orange skin and four arms, floating in the air- was standing beside her. His face twisted in something like annoyance, as though he were upset that her attention was no longer on him._

" _Aw, is the wittle girl afraid we're hurting her wittle friend?" one of the pirates mocked, baring rotten teeth in a menacing grin. The man who wasn't a man's head snapped around to glare at the pirate in something that was so much like a snarl that Echo-Zane flinched at the sight, for good reason, it seemed, as almost all the pirates shrunk away. The pirate that had mocked the girl looked as though he were about to faint._

" _Do_ not  _insult my bride," the man that wasn't a man growled. Echo-Zane noticed the girl's face twisting into a scowl. Hastily, the pirate nodded._

" _Yes- Yes, sir."_

A clump of sand slid beneath his foot, and he fell to one knee. Panting, panting, the cold burning his lungs. He forced his feet back under him, forced himself to stand, to stumble forward, to keep walking.

Keep walking.

" _Take her to the ship."_

" _Wait!" Echo-Zane gasped, trying to pull himself up, but it was impossible, and he doubted he would have been able to manage even if a foot hadn't landed on his back, forcing him to the floorboards as the pirate stepped on him, chortling as they made their way to the exit._

" _Echo!" the girl called, but she was blocked from his view by pirates, swarmed, heading for the doors. Echo-Zane called after her, but she was gone._

_Silence reigned in the lighthouse, the faint cheers and laughter of the pirates able to be heard from outside. It took him a moment to realise the man that wasn't a man was still there._

His wrist was on fire. He kept trying to use a hand that wasn't there to help scramble up dunes, to catch himself when he stumbled and fell, but all he achieved was fire licking and blazing up his whole arm, snapped wires sparking, sand getting inside. Only the stars heard his breathless screams.

" _You're the most pathetic thing I've ever seen."_

_Echo-Zane didn't answer, too busy shivering, too busy trying to think properly. The man that wasn't a man loomed over him, wisps of orange in place of legs curling in the corner of the droid's eyes. He tilted his head to look up, up at the towering man that wasn't a man._

_Ticking._

A single cactus. He stumbled to a stop in front of it, eyes roaming over spikes. Hunger clawed at his stomach.

With his single hand, he reached out and tore through the green skin with broken nails, ignoring the spikes that dug deep into his metal. Juice trickled down his arm.

_The man that wasn't a man stared at him for a long moment, dark eyes roaming over his broken body. Cocked his head when they rested on his ticking heart. A finger twitched._

" _Are you afraid of death, robot?"_

_Echo-Zane stared. His answer was a whisper. "No."_

" _Would you like me to kill you?"_

_Fogged eyes trailed down to his ticking heart. Then up to the man that wasn't a man's muscled, inhuman arms. The twitching finger. As though he wanted to tear it out._

" _No."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Her."_

 _He blinked, then laughed, "You've only just met her. She's_ my  _love. I won't be hurting her, droid, if that's what you're thinking."_

" _Maybe you won't hurt her," said Echo-Zane, "But you'll hurt everyone else."_

_The man that wasn't a man leant closer, until their faces were only inches apart, his breath hot on Echo's cheek, "I'll only hurt those that deserve to be hurt."_

" _No one deserves to be hurt."_

_A smile, "Even a killer?"_

Teeth dug into spikes and cactus flesh, juice trailing down his chin, spikes stabbing at his face. Like how the Serpentine had dug into its kins throat, like how the Basilisk had torn apart the insane snakes, like how the man with the mutilated hands had thrust a knife into Kapow's neck in a burst of bubbling crimson.

Broken nails clawed and tore at the cactus, ignoring the spikes, the needles, the pain that stabbed at his skin like a million little knives. There were needles in his mouth and cheeks. But he didn't care.

He ate like the monster ate the snakes.

_Echo-Zane didn't answer. The man that wasn't a man straightened, floating towards the door after his pirates, leaving him lying there, broken, alone. Forgotten._

_A sob caught in the droid's throat. He breathed deeply, swallowing thickly. Forgotten. Forgotten. Forgotten. Rain splattered against the windows._

_He'd thought he'd finally been remembered._

He dropped the carcass, stumbling onwards like a zombie that had just feasted its fill, leaving the cactus as mutilated as the Serpentine, as mutilated as the man's mangled hands. He wiped juice from his mouth, wincing when he dug needles deeper into his skin, but he didn't attempt to pull them out.

Just keep walking.

" _So… a Djinn?"_

_Clouse nodded, ghostly fingers brushing against his goatee. Carrot raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Jerhys, but the man's attention was focused solely on the ghost. He gestured with a scarred hand for him to continue._

" _I'm uncertain what happened exactly," the ghost admitted, "I thought it was a dream, at first, if I'm being truthful. But then that little robot showed up in the papers."_

" _The little robot?" Carrot cut in, "You mean the Titanium Ninja's younger brother?"_

" _Precisely," Clouse smirked, "He was there also. Had I never released the Djinn, he would have never have been discovered in the first place."_

" _I see," muttered Soren, "So how come only you and- since they went back to get him- the Ninja remember this?"_

" _I've developed a theory," explained Clouse, clasping his hands together on the table. Carrot leant forwards a little._

" _Go on."_

Walking. Stumbling. Limping. The pain had been reduced to a numb throb at the back of his mind. He limbs weighed a thousand tons.

Keep walking.

" _My theory," said Clouse, "Is that only those that made a wish remember what happened. Even one wish is enough. I used all three of my wishes, Sensei Wu, Misako and most of the Ninja made wishes as well- they were trapped alongside me, so they must have."_

" _And even if they don't remember what happened," Jerhys concluded, cocking his head a little, "The others are likely to have told them."_

_Clouse grinned, "Exactly."_

He fell to his knees, sparking wrist held protectively to his chest, crushed ankle spiking. Tears rolled down torn cheeks, breaths coming out in puffs of white. Fingers riddled with cuts and gashes and needles curled into the sand.

He took a deep breath, grit his teeth. Forced himself to his feet.

Kept walking.

" _I wish people would stop forgetting me," Echo-Zane whispered past the lump in his throat. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the man that wasn't a man freeze inches from the door. Above him, at the top of the stairs, Gizmo stared down at him._

_The man that wasn't a man didn't turn around to face him properly, but he turned his head, watching out of the corner of his narrowed eyes. His answer confused Echo-Zane, startled him a bit, for he had long since realised that wishes didn't come true._

" _Your wish...:"_

Echo was abruptly blinded by a bright light. He hadn't the energy to muster a proper gasp, and it came out more like a breathless wheeze. He raised his good arm to shield his eyes.

The light shifted out of his face. A flying ship.

The stern in the shape of a dragons head.

" _...Is yours to keep."_

A figure leapt from the side before it had even landed, electric blue eyes glow brightly in the darkness as though they were twin beacons. Echo's legs gave out beneath him, collapsing in the sand, tears trickling down his cheeks as his older brother ran towards him, kicking up clouds of sand.

Then Zane was there, kneeling in the sand in front of him, hands holding his cheeks, wiping at his tears, speaking so fast that Echo hadn't a clue as to what he was saying. But he didn't care, it didn't matter, because Zane was  _here_  and he was clinging to the front of his gi with his one hand.

His brother pulled him into a suffocating hug, one hand tangled in the back of his hair, and Echo clung to him just as tightly even with only one hand, sobbing into his shoulder, not letting go, never wanting to let go, because for the first time since the picnic he felt  _safe_  and  _happy_ and  _unafraid._

He felt at  _home._

"I love you," Zane whispered, voice thick with his own tears, but that couldn't be true, because Zane never cried, Zane was always strong, was never scared. He pressed titanium lips to the side of Echo's battered head. "I love you so,  _so_ much."

Echo sniffed, burying his face deeper into the crook of his big brother's neck. He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but eventually, he was being shifted, and he whined in protest, tightening his hold on the back of his brother's gi. Zane shushed him gently, and his body left the ground.

Soft whispers, familiar voices muddled together. Zane whispered something back, and a part of Echo wanted to know what they were talking about, but a larger part just wanted to lie there in his brother's arms.

He was safe.

He was with Zane.

_He was home._

Echo fell asleep.


	32. Home

_Chapter Thirty-Two:_

Home

* * *

Destiny's Bounty was quiet.

It had been a long time since Wu had experienced such silence, during the day especially. From the moment he'd adopted Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane as his pupils, what seemed to be an eternity ago, silence had been a rare thing. He would often enjoy the quiet whenever he could, but over the past few days, he'd found himself wishing for the noise to return. To hear his pupils shouting in the living room as they battled each other in their new video game when they were supposed to be training. To hear quiet whispers between them when they were supposed to be meditating.

Since Echo had gone missing, the gaming console had not been touched. The controllers sat forgotten on top of it, coated in a thin layer of dust. Wu had often disapproved of their constant gaming. But now he longed for it, a lot like how he longed to see Morro curled up with a book, little brow furrowed in concentration, mouth moving in silently formed words as he attempted to teach himself to read.

Wu pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, but it didn't ease the ache in his chest.

He opened the door to the Ninja's bedroom, peering inside, careful to not disturb them. His lips twitched in a sad smile.

They were all piled together in a mess of pillows, blankets and tangled limbs. Kai, wrapped in fresh bandages and knocked out by the combination of painkillers and pure exhaustion, had Lloyd's head- which sported its own bandage- resting on his stomach. The Green Ninja's shoulder was in a splint, something about having dislocated it during the blackout.

The entire side of Jay's face was wrapped in bandages, a pad covering what had once been his eye. One of his shoulders was still injured from when he'd been stabbed back before the bomb that had left Kai hospitalised went off. His head rested on Nya's shoulder.

Cole was curled up near Lloyd's feet, clutching a pillow, the most exhausted Wu had seen him since he'd become a ghost. Then there was Zane and Echo, curled up in the very centre, clinging to each other as though afraid the other would disappear. Gizmo sat nestled against Echo, little eyes flickering to lock with Wu's.

The sensei put a finger to his lips. The little robot bleeped quietly, before settling back down.

"They've been through so much."

Wu very nearly leapt out of his skin, turning to find Misako standing behind him, peering over his shoulder at the sleeping Ninja. Her lips twitched, having noticed his reaction, but her face fell when her eyes trailed back to the pile. Wu sighed softly.

"Indeed they have," he murmured quietly, careful not to be too loud, although he was sure that, at this point, nothing would wake them, "I fear that they will not be recovering from this as easily they have with others."

"Echo-Zane especially," Misako agreed, keeping her voice just as quiet, "Should we consider therapy?"

"You know they will not agree to that," Wu pointed out, "But it is an option."

They watched them for a while longer, before Wu eventually reached out and gently closed the door to let them sleep in peace. He and Misako retreated to the kitchen, where the ageing sensei decided a cup of tea was in order.

"Dr Julian was such a nice man," Misako said, smiling in thanks as her brother-in-law handed her a cup of steaming tea, "I hadn't wanted to believe that he would leave Echo behind like that. I can't possibly imagine how Zane felt."

"Julian was an intriguing man," said Wu, sipping his tea, "I often found him mysterious. He had many secrets, many of which he took to his grave. But I am glad to know that he hadn't intentionally abandoned Echo-Zane. For Zane's sake."

"He took a bullet to the head, Wu," Misako frowned, "You don't think it's had any… lasting effects, do you?"

Wu paused, cup partway to his mouth. After a moment, he finished its journey and took a small sip. "Perhaps."

Misako cast her eyes downwards. Took a sip of her own tea. "I never knew there was a Master of Weather."

The sensei was silent for a moment, brow only slightly furrowed, "There isn't."

Misako raised her head to look at him properly, eyes widening, "What do you mean?"

"There is no Master of Weather," Wu clarified, "I have no clue as to how Echo has power over it."

"So… what does this mean?" asked Misako, "Your father had another follower? One he never spoke of?"

"One that wasn't even in the Serpentine Wars," Wu nodded, a calculating look on his face, "Yes, it appears to be so"

"I'm not even sure as to how Zane got his powers," Misako sighed, leaning back in her seat, "Let alone Echo."

"I'd assume Dr Julian himself was a descendant, only his generation was skipped," hummed Wu, taking another sip of his tea, "And he somehow passed it down to Zane. Echo, however? I'm unsure."

A silence descended upon the room. Misako took a gulp of her tea, wishing, at the back of her mind, that it was something just a little stronger. "We still don't know who Basilisk is. I doubt they were  _all_ killed at Ouroboros."

"If the Ninja escaped," said Wu, "Others are to have likely followed."

"Do you think Violet was there?" Misako asked, "The girl that had been captured before the blackout."

Wu shrugged, "Possibly. Possibly not. We have no reason to believe she wasn't among them."

"Do you think Seamus was apart of Basilisk?"

The sensei shook his head, "No. He is a traitor to us and, possibly, to them as well," he sighed, "Everything remains unclear, even with Echo's return."

"What about Jerhys?" Misako pressed, "Soren Jerhys? Surely you've heard of him before?"

"Alas, I have not," Wu admitted, "Otherwise I would have shared. I have never before heard of the name Jerhys, nor do I know why he insisted on using the Japanese tradition of referring to new people by their surnames."

"It could have just been to taunt him," Misako concluded, hand tightening around her cup, "Lloyd doesn't like being referred to as Garmadon anymore."

"Within reason," Wu sighed, the ache in his chest returning, "He's usually called by his first name, anyway."

Misako smiled bitterly, "It's kind of like they still think of him as the 'Dark Lord,' despite his sacrifice. They wouldn't want to associate their  _precious_ Green Ninja with the man that has constantly attempted to take over Ninjago."

Wu snorted quietly, despite himself. He shook his head. "Garmadon will forever be remembered as a hero. You do know that, don't you?"

"I know," Misako sighed, "But you can't deny that it's there."

"No," Wu looked down, "No, I cannot."

Silence stretched into being. Misako gulped at her tea.

"Why do you think of those… 'Coloured Rags'?" she asked, after a moment, "Oddly coincidental of them to be the same colour as the Ninja's gi."

"Jerhys was planning on creating a 'new society,'" Wu said, sipping his tea, "He was most likely planning on replacing the Ninja also."

"Nya said they represented their elements as well," Misako traced the rim of her cup with a finger, "Their symbols were in Japanese."

Wu nodded, brow furrowing again, "Doro, Chikara, Nokoribi, Yuki, Denki and Mizu. Five girls, one boy."

"Dirt, Power, Embers, Snow, Electricity and Water," Misako translated. She bit the inside of her cheek. "If only we knew what their real names are."

" _Dirt_ is quite the odd thing to name someone," Wu murmured, "I wonder if they were seen as the least qualified member."

"I wouldn't be surprised at this point," Misako admitted. She hesitated, regarding her brother-in-law almost wearily. "And… what about Echo's… friend?"

Wu paused, staring into his tea. Misako bit her lip.

"Kaze," she said, "He called him Kaze. You don't think… ?"

"The Coloured Rags were not the actual Ninja," Wu said, not looking up from his tea, "It is a possibility that there is one for each Elemental Master," his chest ached, "Even the dead ones."

Misako stared at him for a long moment. Then she nodded and took a sip of her tea. "You're right," she sighed, "I'm sorry."

Wu's eyes trailed over to the kitchen door. Open, just in case something happened. Just in case one of their kids needed them.

Just in case.

"It's alright."

* * *

" _Hey, you."_

_Chope raised his head, cheeks stained with tears. Clouse gestured for him to come over and, startled, Chope looked over his shoulder, wondering if he was actually talking to him. Seeing no one else there, he looked back at the ghost and pointed a thumb at his chest questionably._

_Clouse, scowling, nodded, "Yes, you! Get over here!"_

His wrists were chained behind his back, so tight that the skin broke and bled. A gag was tied around his mouth, a filthy taste on his tongue, cutting into the corners of his mouth.

" _Can you get me into one of the cells?"_

" _Well- Well, yeah, I can-"_

" _You won't tell anyone?"_

_Blood, bubbling around the knife in his friend's throat. Jerhys, waving him away, as though it didn't matter. As though he didn't care. Something curled in Chope's stomach._

" _No."_

The door opened, spilling light into the room. He ducked his head, closed his eyes as they burned from constant time in the dark. A hand wrapped around his arm, painfully tight, a fist cracking against his mouth.

_He watched as Clouse handed the prisoner a vial, the broken robot lying on the floor, looking so childlike that Chope's heartstrings tugged. He'd done this. He'd brought him here._

_Chope stepped out of the way, allowing Clouse to pass him into the hall. He stared at the little robot for a long moment, biting his lip, before sliding out into the corridor after the ghost. He closed the door behind him. Looked over his shoulder at the retreating Clouse, too focused on not stepping in any of the puddles to care about him. His hand brushed against the key in his pocket._

_He didn't pull it out._

He was forced to his feet, forced out into the corridor, a blade pressed between his shoulder blades. The uneven floor scraped and tore at his bare feet.

_Chaos. The giant snake leaving behind a trail of blood. The Coloured Rags stood, impassive, hands clasped behind their backs like robotic soldiers. Chope placed the key on the floor._

_He kicked it towards Zane._

Noise. Everywhere. Black Rags, pointing, jeering, shouting traitor in their foreign language. His brothers killer stood, an axe clasped in his mutilated hands.

_The droid burst into action, socking Jerhys in the face. The Coloured Rags beat him to the floor._

_Chope sprung forwards. His fist connected with the Green Rag's nose._

He was forced to his knees, a foot replacing the blade that had been pressed against his back, shoving his face into the cold block. Chope closed his eyes. The monster raised its axe.

He joined his brother.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, the lights of Ninjago City blazing into life. A passerby, scrolling through their phone, laughed at something and tossed their empty cup over their shoulder. It rolled into a nearby alley, half melted ice clacking, and came to a stop at the bottom of a dumpster.

_There was nothing in the void. Nothing but darkness, darkness in every direction, in his veins and lungs and heart, consuming him, blinding him, leaving him breathless._

A hand reached down and picked up the cup, jiggling it. Then, scowling, it was thrown into the dumpster. This was quickly followed by the same hand that had picked it up, rummaging around, searching through the trash.

_Then there was fire, everywhere, licking away at his limbs and face and chest, and he screamed, screamed in outright agony, feeling as though he were being sucked through a tiny vacuum cleaner, his skin tear and healing and tearing and healing again and again and again._

The hand emerged, balling into a fist and slamming onto the side of the dumpster. A hiss of pain through clenched teeth. He hit it again. Again.

_He landed, sprawled on the ground, gasping, fire in his lungs and bones. Through unfocused eyes and a pounding head, he looked up, up at the grizzly man that towered over him, smirking a twisted smirk, a gauntlet gleaming bloody red on his arm._

" _Welcome back."_

"Are you  _trying_ to break your hand?"

He froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He turned his head to face the entrance of the alleyway and scowled.

"Carrot," he spat, "What do you want?"

" _Who are you?"_

" _I'm your… employer, you could say. What do you remember?"_

" _I… remember fire. Liquid fire. Water that burns."_

" _Anything else?"_

" _... No."_

"I want to make amends," Carrot declared, strolling into the alley, "Look at you. You're rummaging through the trash like a common rat. I never thought you could get any lower."

"I've done this before, you know," he growled, "And I can easily break your  _fucking_ nose if I want to."

Carrot tutted, "Now, now. No need for such language. Surely that father of yours taught you better?"

"What do you  _want,_  Carrot?"

"I want your help."

" _We're going to call you Kaze from now on."_

" _How come?"_

" _Well, you want to be a part of the team, don't you? We'll even make your rags green."_

" _Why green?"_

" _Don't you like green?"_

" _I… yeah. Okay, sure. Green."_

" _My_ help?" he echoed, disbelieving, "And just  _why_ would I do that?"

"Jerhys is no longer useful to me," Carrot explained, tucking his hands inside his pockets, "But  _you_ , on the other hand, serve a purpose. I want you to help me," he smiled, "I'll give you anything you want in return."

He stared at him for a long moment. Then he cast his gaze to the ground and turned away. "I don't even  _know_ what I want."

"Power?" suggested Carrot, taking a small step forward, "Money?" his eyes glinted, "The green gi?"

"No!" he cut him off, head snapping around, eyes a blazing glare, "Don't you  _dare_ try that!"

" _What are you doing?"_

_Kaze jumped, the laptop falling from his hands and smashing against the floor, breaking upon impact. He spun around to face Chikara, heart thumping in his throat. "Noth-Nothing!"_

" _Liar."_

Carrot snorted, "Alright, fine. Matter is, I can give you  _anything_ at all. You just have to help me."

He stared at him. Then he shook his head. "No," he croaked, "I'm done with Basilisk. And that includes you."

The man's face fell into a hard glare, "Fine," he spat, "Have it your way."

Carrot lunged.

" _You were trying to contact them."_

" _I- I wasn't, I swear-"_

" _He's going to kill you now."_

He leapt out of the way, planting his foot against the side of the dumpster and leaping over Carrot's head. But the man pulled out a knife, tearing the cloth that covered his stomach, only narrowly missing flesh.

Landing in a roll, he leapt back to his feet, raising his fist, the wind roaring. Then an arrow embedded itself into the wall inches from Carrot's head.

"Leave the boy alone, Dewer," said the shadow at the end of the alley, "You are unwelcome here."

Carrot scowled, eyes darting from him to the shadow. Then he turned around and ran out the other end of the alley.

Slowly, he lowered his fist, the wind ceasing its roar. Turned to face the newcomer, legs tensed and eyes narrowed. "I had him."

The shadow laughed, stepping closer, "Of course you did."

It was not, in fact, a shadow, but instead a man. His hair was black, messy and streaked with grey. His face was worn, and yet youth somehow remained in his features. His eyes were a dark brown, and for a moment he thought he recognised him as someone he wasn't.

"Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowing further. The man smiled with surprising kindness. He held no bow.

"I'm a friend," he stated, "To this, I promise you."

"Promises are just words," he pointed out. The man hummed.

"Yes, that is true. But I, for one, never break a promise."

"What do you want?"

"To help people," said the man, "You can be one of those people too, if you choose to trust me."

"I don't trust easily," he growled, an attempt to appear menacing, despite his ragged state. The man's face only softened further.

"No one in your position does," he said. The man turned, walking back to the alley's exit. He called over his shoulder. "If you wish to follow, do so. I can provide you with food and shelter," he paused in the entrance of the alley, "You can leave whenever you like, Morro."

He turned the corner, vanishing from view. Morro stared after him. His eyes darted over to the dumpster he'd been searching through in hopes of finding food, then over to the other end of the alley, where Carrot had vanished.

He bit his lip. Then he turned and made his way after the retreating man, turning the corner to find him waiting off to the side next to the alleyway. The man smiled at him, before turning and continuing down the street.

Morro's hand slipped into his pocket, clutching at a single, squished daisy. The remains of a flower crown.

He ran after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shall see you...
> 
> ... in Crooked Clockwork.
> 
> Massive shoutout to my friend, GirlOfHerOwnWorld, who helped write this story!


End file.
